Why Single Gender Classes?

-Brain differences

- Learning styles

- Academic performance

-Behavior differences

Brain differences

The brains of girls and boys differ in important ways. These differences are genetically programmed and are present at birth. Brains can be identified by sex as early as 24 weeks into pregnancy. The areas of the brain involved in language, in spatial memory, in motor coordination and fine motor skills develop in a different order, time, and rate in girls compared to boys.

Learning styles

Girls and boy have different learning styles in part because of innate, biologically-programmed differences in the way the brain works. As a result, single-sex classes have unique advantages for girls and boys.

Academic performance

• Boys are falling behind academically and fewer are attending college. While research has shown that both boys and girls do better in single gender schools, boys benefit the most academically at the elementary level

Crisis for boys

• By 8th grade, boys are 50% more likely to be held back a grade than girls.

• By high school, boys are 67% more likely to be identified as ESE than girls.

• Boys are 10 times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ADHD.

• Boys are twice as likely as girls to be identified with a learning disability.

• 71% of all suspensions are boys.

• Boys are 3 times more likely to be a victim of a violent crime than girls.

• Boys are 4-6 times more likely to commit suicide than girls.

Behavior differences

The number of behavioral concerns and office referrals decrease when boys and girls are separated for instruction. By setting up the classroom to accommodate the learning styles of the sexes, many behavior problems disappear.

Learning differences

• Girls are more likely to try new things when boys are not around. This is especially true for things that are usually thought of as “boy” areas (e.g., math, science, technology).

• Greater learning occurs when girls are grouped with other girls. Studies have shown that pairing a girl and a boy together on a task can reduce the girl’s performance by as much as 50%

• Girls will naturally break into groups of 3-4 to work on problems. Boys are more competitive. Group work for boys must be more structured and clearly defined.

• Girls can talk about emotions better than boys. They find it easier to share their feelings. They enjoy books about relationships, while boys tend to prefer action books.

• Role-playing activities work better for girls.

• Boys tend to prefer non-fiction over fiction.

• Navigational tasks are handled in different parts of the brain. For girls it in the cerebral cortex, the same general section that is responsible for language. For boys, navigational tasks are handled in the hippocampus. This has significance for learning topics requiring spatial understanding, such as geometry, number theory, and algebra.

• Girls use the right and left hemispheres of the brain to process language. Boys use only the left.

• Girls need a classroom that is safe, comfortable, and welcoming. Boys need a classroom that is loud and lively. Boys need more breaks and more vigorous physical activity. Boys need stricter rules that are enforced fairly with high expectations.

• Stress can have a positive effect on learning for boys. It usually has a negative effect on learning for girls.

• Girls are more likely to be excessively critical in evaluation their own academic performance; boys tend to have unrealistically high estimates of their own academic abilities and accomplishments.

• Girls tend to be teacher-pleasers. Teachers have to work harder to engage boys, making it more critical to capitalize on their interest.

• Girls have a sense of hearing which is 2 to 4 times better than boys, depending on the frequency. Therefore, boys need to be closer to the teacher.

• The brain of a 6 year old boy looks more like the brain of a 4-year old girl.

• Girls mature faster than boys. On an MRI scan, the brain of a 17-year old boy looks more like the brain of an 11-year old girl.

• By age 30, there is little difference in brain development.

Study Results

• British Office for Standards in Education, 1998: Students in single-sex education have a significantly more positive attitude toward learning.

• Thurgood Marshall Elementary, Seattle, 2000:

Discipline referrals dropped from an average of 30 office referrals daily to an average of 2.

Academic performance improved the most for boys in reading, going from the 20th percentile to 66th percentile.

• Moten Elementary, Washington, D.C., 2001:

Average scores in reading on the Stanford 9 jumped from the 50th percentile to the 91th percentile.

Average scores in math jumped from the 49th percentile to the 88th percentile.

Discipline referrals decreased by 99%.

Woodward Avenue Elementary, DeLand, Florida(3rd year implementation of single-gender)

Percent of 5th graders making learning gains on FCAT Reading

Girls Boys

All girls’ class 80% --------

All boy’s class --------- 95%

Mixed classes 84% 81%

Percent of 5th graders making learning gains on FCAT Math.

Girls Boys

All girls’ class 70% ----------

All boys’ class ----------- 70%

Mixed classes 73% 67%

• Percent of grade four students scoring 3.5 or higher on FCAT Writing

Girls Boys

All girls’ class 90% --------

All boys’ class -------- 65%

Mixed classes 76% 60%

• What is the next step?