As the school bell rings at 3:00 p.m. to signal the end of the day and the afternoon prayer closes, 1,000 students rapidly flood the hallways to squeeze out the doors for the parking lot, head to the locker room for a sport’s practice, or even buy a snack from the school concession stand. A bystander might notice an abnormal sight through the sea of multi-colored shirts and preppy clothing. The students are all young men. This is Rockhurst High School— a college-preparatory school that implements a single-sex education for its students. Rockhurst High School is one of three high schools in the Kansas City area that offer single-sex education (the other two being all girls). The ongoing debate between coed and single-sex education in America
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In single-sex education there is a lack of opportunity to interact and work with the opposite sex. As a result, many critics state that students who attend a single-sex school will be blindsided by their future job because the work environment provides opportunities to interact with both sexes, a factor that single-sex schooling lacks (Stanberry). However, many parents, alumni, and current students of single-sex schools believe that single-sex education is very beneficial. Emily Schnitker, alumnae of Notre Dame de Sion and freshman at the University of Missouri-Columbia stated, “Single-sex schools are beneficial because they not only provide a healthy learning environment but also establish qualities and values in their students such as leadership, independence, and self-confidence.” Students who attend single-sex schools are given the tools and qualities to make important life decisions while interacting with the opposite sex. A coed school is not needed to teach …show more content…
In the case of Rockhurst, many of the young men can seriously take time to focus and study for their classes without all of the drama or distracting presence of women. At Stetson University in Florida, researchers conducted a three year project to test the theory about single-sex education versus coed education. Students were taught all of the same material, and then administered the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The FCAT is a test administered Florida that assesses a student’s overall ability in mathematics, reading, science, and writing. The test measures a student’s progress towards Florida’s education standard (Florida Department of Education). The test results were astonishing! 37% of boys in coed classrooms scored proficient. Meanwhile, 86% of boys in single-sex classrooms scored proficient. The rest of the data can be seen below in the graph
In single-sex education there is a lack of opportunity to interact and work with the opposite sex. As a result, many critics state that students who attend a single-sex school will be blindsided by their future job because the work environment provides opportunities to interact with both sexes, a factor that single-sex schooling lacks (Stanberry). However, many parents, alumni, and current students of single-sex schools believe that single-sex education is very beneficial. Emily Schnitker, alumnae of Notre Dame de Sion and freshman at the University of Missouri-Columbia stated, “Single-sex schools are beneficial because they not only provide a healthy learning environment but also establish qualities and values in their students such as leadership, independence, and self-confidence.” Students who attend single-sex schools are given the tools and qualities to make important life decisions while interacting with the opposite sex. A coed school is not needed to teach …show more content…
In the case of Rockhurst, many of the young men can seriously take time to focus and study for their classes without all of the drama or distracting presence of women. At Stetson University in Florida, researchers conducted a three year project to test the theory about single-sex education versus coed education. Students were taught all of the same material, and then administered the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The FCAT is a test administered Florida that assesses a student’s overall ability in mathematics, reading, science, and writing. The test measures a student’s progress towards Florida’s education standard (Florida Department of Education). The test results were astonishing! 37% of boys in coed classrooms scored proficient. Meanwhile, 86% of boys in single-sex classrooms scored proficient. The rest of the data can be seen below in the graph