Single Sex Education
...allows local education agencies to use money from the law’s problems to support same-gender schools and classrooms. Is this an ethical use of our money? Could this money not be used to in co-education environments in support of gender relations there? Yes, students now have the freedom to choose to go to public single-sex schools, but the government must also work to keep these facilities separate and equal or face violations of the Title IX Amendment of 1972 (Barak). Students of these schools may become confident only around individuals of the same sex, and students exposed only to single-sex environments may have trouble adapting to a co-educational college setting. Little research has been done on the effects of single-sex education on students adapting to college, and David Sadker, an education expert at American University agrees that the “push for single sex schools is not being considered carefully enough and puts the quality of education at rise; single sex education will not offer a quick fix to the problems in the American Education system ( McCollum). The benefits to a co-educational education are innumerable. Students learn how to focus with distractions from the opposite sex, thus preparing them for the real world in which they will be working. Students also learn how to be comfortable and how to act politically correct around members of the opposite sex. In co-ed educational systems there is collaboration between the sexes with students interacting with one another on a daily basis. These interactions help to eliminate any discrimination and create equality between men and women. Chase Staley, a seventeen year old student, says that a co-educational classroom can, “spark learning.” He is currently a senior at Nequa Valley High in Naperville IL, and he believes that boys and girls bring different viewpoints to each subject. “Gender diversity is just as important as racial diversity. If you remove the different perspectives you’re losing a section of diversity- a big one.” (McCollum). Staley brings up a valid point. For many students school may be the only time or provide the only environment in which they feel comfortable interacting and sharing viewpoints with members of the opposite sex. In single-sex environments students are not exposed to the viewpoints of the opposite sex and are not exposed to an enriched learning environment. Although there are benefits to the educational separation of male and female students, these benefits are out weighed by the importance in the workplace of respect, interpersonal communication, and acknowledgment of difference between the sexes. These benefits are also high debated among scholars. Studies of single-sex education have shown results that vary across the board. According to, Riordan, author of “Girls and Boys in School: Together or Separate?”, he suggests that a single-sex school allows students to focus on academics. Researchers at the University of Michigan compared graduates of Catholic single-sex high schools with graduates of Catholic coeducational private schools. Boys in the single-sex high schools scored better in reading, writing, and math than did boys at coed high schools while girls at the single-sex schools did better in science and reading than girls in coed schools (Sax). However, this study did not cite how much higher the test scores actually were, and test scores are not the most important aspect of education. Also, a 1998 study by the American Association of University Women, reports that, "no evidence that single-sex education is better than coeducation. Several of the studies determined that although single-sex schools seem to have positive effects on girls' achievement when compared with coed schools, once the findings were adjusted for student socioeconomic status, pre-enrollment ability, selectivity of the school, and other variables, the differences diminished or disappeared, “ (Maatz). Overall, the results of studies have been inconclusive as to whether singe-sex education actually increases test scores, or whether it is simply a matter of good teaching which increases the scores. Co-educational education is the better choice because it not only teaches girls and boys important social skills but also allows for students to be exposed to many different learning styles. According to Dr. Leonard Sax, the founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Single-Sex Public Schools, the separation of the sexes should "help teachers to accommodate the differences in male and female learning styles". Scientists have not pinpointed why, but research shows that the brain of a female develops faster than that of a male. Because of this faster development rate women acquire language skills at an earlier age. The U.S. Dept. of Education reports that the average eleventh grade boy writes at the same level as an eighth grade girl. By looking ...