Single Sex Education Essay

With the ever growing competition within the working society, getting the best education possible is crucial in separating oneself from the competition. It is extremely important to start this process at a young age. The majority of brain development happens in adolescent years. Due to this fact, it is important to start this competitive education in the elementary and middle school years of schooling. The problem then arises of whether a student excels better in coeducation or single-sex education. The ongoing debate to determine which is more beneficial seems to be a constant battle within the education system. However, the benefits of single-sex education outweigh those of coeducation. Single-sex education overshadows coeducation because

Distractions can cause behavioral issues, along with a decrease in confidence within students. A student’s behavior in a classroom can play a huge part in the students’ academic success in a learning environment. Bad behavior caused by one student can influence and alter the rest of the students in a classroom. The more time a teacher has to spend correcting a student’s behavior, the less time he or she spends on teaching a lesson or a matter at hand. Studies have shown a direct effect on the improvement of behavior in the single-sex education environment. A study was done at Mathew Henson Elementary School, which is the country’s longest accredited all-boys school classroom, and the results showed a decrease in disciplinary problems, an increase in the attendance, and also more positive attitudes (Hughes 9). Human nature makes each gender want to impress the other. For example, boys feel the need to

With the decline in extra distractions that coed classrooms exhibit, students are able to focus more on learning than the extracurricular activity around them. Therefore, retention of the material increases, causing higher scores on tests. A study was conducted by Claremont Academy in Chicago, Illinois to test if single-sex education can improve test scores. Richard Carter, a student at Claremont, spoke about his difficulty to learn with girls in the room. He said, “with girls in the room, we spend too much time thinking about girls…trying to make girls smile or laugh” (Patterson 37). Both boys and girls, by human nature, have the tendency to try and impress each other. The study included details about the composite scores of the Claremont students on the Illinois Standard Achievement Test. Students from Claremont scored 82% higher on math, science, and reading (Patterson 37-38). The scores showed the students nearly doubling previous scores. The study provides evidence to show that the elimination of distractions can significantly increase scores. Girls also have the tendency to stereotype certain subjects. For example, females might fall into the stereotype that males are better at science or economic classes. Thus, causing some females the feeling that if she succeeded in these certain subjects, she might be teased by peers. Psychologists have shown that cultural stereotypes affect the