Study: All-girl schools don't improve test scores

The AAUW study finds class size more important than whether boys and girls are in separate classes

Finding conflicts with earlier study

March 12, 1998
Web posted at: 12:29 p.m. EST (1729 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Removing boys from the classroom fails to improve girls' performance in school even though it leaves them more confident, according to a new study.

The report, released Thursday by the American Association of University Women, comes six years after the group asserted that girls were receiving an inferior education in the nation's public schools.

The AAUW's original study found that boys and girls begin school with equal skills, but that girls fall behind by high school, particularly in math and science. The report found girls faced routine discrimination by teachers, in textbooks and by male students.

That sparked interest in all-girls' schools and girls-only math and science classes. Since then, a handful of public school systems in New York, Virginia, Maine, New Hampshire, Illinois and California have created single-sex classes or girls-only schools.

The AAUW surveyed dozens of studies on single-sex education and found that while many girls report increased confidence and improved attitudes about math and science, they do not show a measurable improvement in academic skill.

CNN's Rusty Dornin asks parent Gloria Maye her opinions about same-sex classes

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Student Adela Vanikova speaks about her personal experience

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'Not the silver bullet'

"What this report says is that single-sex education is not the silver bullet," said Janice Weinman, executive director of the Washington-based group.

"We went in with an open mind, and what the research shows is that boys and girls both thrive when the elements of good education are there, elements like smaller classes, focused academic curriculum and gender-fair instruction," Weinman said.

Some parents and students agree that large classes are a bigger problem than having both sexes in the classroom.

But many schools can't afford smaller classrooms. And educators in California say just separating the boys from the girls can make a difference. The state spent $3 million last year on single-sex education. And teachers say all-girl classes let students learn without fear of ridicule.

"What needs to be tested is their self-esteem and that can't be measured," math teacher Pam Belitski of Anacapa Middle School in Ventura, California, said in Thursday's USA Today.

New study questioned

The AAUW's 1992 study sparked the creation of same-gender classes in many cities

A research professor at New York University, Diane Ravitch, also questioned the new study, "Separated by Sex: A Critical Look at Single-Sex Education for Girls."

"Clearly this is an attempt to stop the public school single-sex experimentation," she said told The New York Times. "And I think those experiments are a good thing."

But Chester Finn, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a conservative research organization, told the Times that the original study "diagnosed a false problem."

A recent study of math and science performance showed the United States ranked low, but found little difference between the skills of boys and girls in this country, he said.

Correspondent Rusty Dornin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related sites:

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• American Association of University Women
  • "Separated by Sex: A Critical Look at Single-Sex Education for Girls."
  National Education Association
• U.S. Department of Education

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