Education Report Roundup

Effectiveness of Single-Sex Classes Questioned

By Laura Greifner — November 21, 2006 1 min read
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“Separate But Superior? A Review of Issues and Data Bearing on Single-Sex Education” is posted by the Education Policy Research Unit at Arizona State University.

Less than a month after the U.S. Department of Education affirmed the legality of single-sex education in public schools, a report says that proof of the benefits of single-sex classes is insubstantial.

Some common reasons given to promote single-sex classrooms are to increase the enrollment of girls in courses they might otherwise avoid; to improve girls’ self-esteem; and to reduce distractions for all students. But according to Gerald W. Bracey, the independent researcher who produced the analysis for the Education Policy Research Unit at Arizona State University, in Tempe, any studies that have proven such results do not hold up under review.

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