The push for more single-sex instruction in public schools is based on weak, “misconstrued” scientific claims and may do more harm than good, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science.
The authors, a group that includes psychologists, child-development specialists and a neuroscientist, argue that while excellent single-sex schools exist, there is “no empirical evidence that their success stems from their single- sex organization,” as opposed to the quality of students, the curriculum or short-lived motivation that comes from “novelty and belief in the innovation.”
Evidence is more clear that separate schooling increases gender stereotyping and sanctions institutionalized sexism, the authors write. They call on the Obama administration and Congress to rescind regulatory changes spurred by the 2002 federal No Child Left Behind Act that made way for more single-sex classes in public schools.
Debates have raged in recent years over whether such classes represent a backslide in gender equality or an opportunity for poor families to access promising gender-specific instruction typically reserved for wealthy private-school students. The study opens a new front in the battle, challenging varying interpretations of burgeoning brain research.
About 500 public schools nationwide offer single-sex classes, according to the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education, based in Exton, Pa. That’s up from a handful a decade ago.
No Child Left Behind highlighted single-gender classes as one “innovative” tool to boost achievement. But anti- discrimination laws banned their widespread use. A change in federal regulations in 2006 allowed boys and girls to be separated as long as classes are voluntary and that “substantially equal” coeducational classes are offered.
The approach has gained popularity as school choice and experimentation have become hallmarks of reform.
