Single-Sex Schooling

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Recommended: The importance of the topic single sex education

School reforms are not a new concept or trend; they have been developing since our nation’s educational system was founded. School reforms are an attempt to make the education system better; in effect, making our children more prepared to compete globally. The school reform that I have decided to research is single-gender schooling. This is the idea that students perform better academically when they are in classrooms with only classmates of the same sex. I have only had one (experimental) class like this: my 6th-grade science class. Whether or not being in a room with all males improved my test scores compared to my other classes or other students with mixed-gender classes, I have no clue, which is why I decided to research this school reform. It was definitely a different experience, but like many others, I wanted to know if it works. Because of it does, this could be a revolutionary discovery to benefit America’s next generation. However, there are opponents to single-gender classrooms, and we will hear what they (and the proponents) have to say about the subject.

Even though single-gender schooling sounds like a new, innovative concept, it has actually been around since the settlement of the original colonies from England. Surprisingly, its roots are discriminatory: in colonial times, boys were taught science, writing, and arithmetic while girls were only taught how to cook and sew. This is a major reason why single-gender schooling has such a negative perception associated with it.

“In 1972, the U.S. congress enacted Title IX of the Higher Education Act, a federal mandate that demanded schools treat students equally, regardless of race or gender. This law forced hundreds of public single-sex schools to close their doors…...

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...chools. Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies, Electronic Theses & Dissertations. Pg. 1-114

Stanberry, Kristen. Single Sex Education: The Pros and Cons. Great Schools Association.

Strauss, Valerie. The Case Against Single Sex Schooling. Washington Post Newspaper. June 4, 2012.

Talbot, Margaret. The Case Against Single Sex Classrooms. The NewYorker Newspaper. July 12, 2012.

Wills, Robin; Kilpatrick, S; and Hutton, B. (2013). Single-Sex Classes in Co-Educational Schools. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 27:3. pg. 277-291.

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