Ridwan Bobe

Mr. Shipman

Ap English

1/22/16

The battle for academics

Single sex classes should be available for those who want it.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you were in a class with only one sex? A class full of one gender? Would it be different from coeducation? What type of effect would it have on students? Are there pros and cons to these classes? How do the students feel in these types of classes? Will there be social discomfort between sexes? Do single sex students do better In academics than co-Ed classes? I stand with having single sex in schools systems. “According to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education (NASSPE), in 2002 there were only about a dozen US public schools offering single-sex classes; as of 2010 there were 540, of which 91 were all-girl or all-boy schools.” Single sex classes should be implemented because; they make students do better academically, they allow teachers to instruct them in the way that’s suitable for their genders, and there are less behavior problems to deal with.

After researching what teachers think of single sex classes and what they see in classes like that, the result is clear cut. Robert Kirschenbaum, school psychologist with the Clover park school district in lakewood, Washington, said “Girls seem to favor learning in a quieter setting in which they work together and come to a consensus. Boys tend to favor a setting that is more competitive, physically active, and a louder base of learning”. There is a difference between how a girl learns and how a boy learns. teachers can take full advantage of that and can ironically use the behavior that’s usually inappropriate or not appreciated by both genders, and construct a suitable environment for each. There are also studies that show girls do better in warmer temperatures, and boys do better in a cooler climate.

The main focus people zoom in on is that school systems should consider having single sex classrooms. Do single sex classes have better academic scores than coed classes? The answer is yes. California universities completed a three year to five year pilot project comparing single sex classrooms with coed classes. The results showed that on the FCAT testing that boys in coed classes got a score of: 37% scoring proficient, girls in coed classes received: 59% scoring proficient, girls in single sex classes got:75% scoring proficient and boys in single sex classes received: 86% scoring proficient. Also all students were learning the same curriculum at the time. This adds on to why single sex classes are better academically and why school boards should consider having single sex classes. The academic benefits do not stop there. “The University of Michigan team later reported that the beneficial effects of single-sex education don’t end after students leave the school. They found that graduates of single-sex schools were more likely to go to a prestigious college, and more likely to aspire to graduate school or professional school, than were graduates of coed schools. That finding held for both girls and boys”. So we can see that it isn’t a short time miracle or a fluke, this success follows the students beyond their experiences in single sex education and into the real world.

Single sex education also lessens behavioral problems and is more stable than coeducational academics. “The U.S. Department of Education contracted with RMC Research Corporation to conduct a descriptive study of existing single-sex public schools; In the eight elementary and middle schools visited, site visitors observed more positive academic and behavioral interactions between teachers and students in the single-sex schools than in the comparison coed schools. Teachers in single-sex high schools rated problems with student behavior as less serious than teachers in coed schools”. This clearly shows the difference between the students in the two academic choices. Ironically it was thought that for boys, girls being in the room would actually make them focus more but that has been disproven.

As we all know, a coin has two sides, and this matter is no different than any other topic in that sense.

Although some may declare that single sex is better than coed, we could say that coed is as good as single sex, or even better. One statement that is put forth Is that single sex classes delay the development of interpersonal communication, because studies show that it prevents both sexes from understanding each other properly. Coeducational academics builds a stronger sense of togetherness, and teaches us about what life will really be like. People also don’t see what the big difference is between the results of these two academic learning styles. “Among the concurrent academic accomplishment outcomes, 53 percent were null (favored neither single-sex nor coed schooling), 10 percent had mixed results across sex or grade levels, 35 percent favored single-sex schooling, and only 2 percent favored coed schooling.” We can see that the majority is null, neutral, not in favor of either one! So one more side is that they really aren’t that different.

In conclusion, the research that I have done on this topic and the resources that I’ve gotten from others shows that single sex classes should be offered more easily and be more accessible for people. This is because they have better academic scores than coeducation classes, it’s more easy to setup a learning environment, and there are less behavioral issues. This way we can get our students have better academic scores and thrive to become better students. This choice is most beneficial to those who are more suited to these types “The better the information the better the answer”. And that is what is most important, receiving the best info on what helps us and the next generations.

Bibliography

PAUL KATULA. “Same-sex Schooling ‘pseudoscience’ & Hales Franciscan.”Voxitatis Blog. N.p., 01 Feb. 2014. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.

NASSPE: Research Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence.” NASSPE: Research Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence. N.p., Oct. 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Stanberry, Kristin. “Single-sex Education: The Pros and Cons.” GreatKids. N.p., 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.

Strauss, Valerie. “Kids Don’t Learn Better in Single-sex Classes — Meta Analysis.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.

Cornelius Riordan. Girls and Boys in School: together or separate? New York: Teachers College Press, 1990.

Julie Henry, “Help for the boys helps the girls,” Times Educational Supplement (London, UK), June 1 2001.