Single-Sex Schooling

Historical Background

Coeducational classes are a relatively new development in U.S. education and education in general. Throughout the early days of U.S. education, single-sex schools were the norm in secondary schools. At that time, however, only students of above-average ability and above-average income attended secondary schools, that is, primarily upper-class White boys. During the 1920s, Progressive policymakers created comprehensive coeducational high schools to offer a wide range of courses and theoretically to provide access to the entire curriculum to all students, particularly girls, who had previously been afforded limited opportunities, particularly in math and science. Then, in 1975, Title IX legislation specifically forbade single-sex physical education classes because of inequitable resources and facilities for women athletes. Title IX did not include academic classes, but, confused over both the spirit and the letter of the law, schools then steered clear of single-sex classes in all subjects until Title IX was essentially changed by the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Rhetoric about the effectiveness of single-sex classes dominated the early years of the 21st century, with conflicting opinions about whether boys or girls benefited, if at all, by the arrangement. In 2002, an amendment to No Child Left Behind legislation opened the door for schools to experiment with single-sex classes as a means of improving educational outcomes for all students, with no special emphasis on those who readily achieved or [Page 808]exceeded mastery. Education policymakers looked to single-sex classes as a solution for declining achievement in specific content areas, such as mathematics and science for girls and language arts and reading for boys. Schools that attempted to implement single-sex classes frequently experienced conflicts between policymakers and educators over ideology and resources, as well as concerns about equity and stereotypical attitudes

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Education confirmed the legality of single-sex arrangements. This decision emerged in the midst of the proliferation of such classes in school districts that had already begun experimenting with the model. Since 2006, the number of single-sex classes and schools has increased exponentially. Many of these arrangements have been ideologically driven without the benefit of research-based foundations. Limited attention has been paid to the efficacy of single-sex schooling for gifted students, although the particular learning needs of gifted girls have merited scrutiny.

Effectiveness

In the United States, the debate about gender differences continues to fuel interest in single-sex classes and schools. In the 1990s, research focused on inherent inequities for girls in mixed classrooms and that girls often choose, with permission and even encouragement from school authorities, to take less demanding courses. The American Association of University Women originally endorsed single-sex classes, but ultimately reversed its stance because of the slippery slope that might result in inequitable curriculum offerings for girls, reversing the gains of the past 50 years. At the beginning of the 21st century, attention turned to underachievement among boys across all ethnicities. Some proponents of brain-based differences argue that the specific needs of boys and girls are best addressed only in single-sex classes and schools. More temperate brain-based theorists strongly suggest that the professional development of teachers must focus on specific strategies for teaching each gender, regardless of whether they are segregated from each other.

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