Comparing Academic Performance Data of Students in Single-gender Classrooms


Book Description

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if single-gender settings have a statistically significant effect on African-American male and/or African-American female academic achievement on English assessment from sixth through eighth grade. Social science statistics were used to determine if a statistically significant difference occurred in the performance of African-American males and/or female students in single-gender classrooms compared to African-American male and female students in coed classrooms. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to assess if differences exist on a dependent variable (student achievement) by independent variables (instructional setting and gender). A statistically significant difference occurred among girls during sixth through eighth grade (girls in coed environments had higher achievement scores), among males in sixth and seventh grades (males in coed environments had higher achievement scores), and among boys and girls during eighth grade (boys exhibited a higher percentage of proficiency in single-gender contexts than girls in single-gender classrooms). Results suggest that coeducational environments are more academically advantageous for African-American middle school boys and girls, especially during younger years, than single-gender environments. Mean achievement scores increased among single-gender classrooms, according to gender and alongside year length or student age. This suggests that single-gender classrooms may be more academically advantageous as students age; however, this study suggests additional research to verify the credibility of this suggestion since this study focused primarily on assessing statistical significance, of which none was found in regard to single-gender classrooms being more academically advantageous than coed classrooms.




A Comparison Study of Student Academic Performance by Male African American Students in a Traditional Public School and Male African American Students in a Single Gender Academy


Book Description

A quantitative, causal-comparative study between single gender and traditional mixed gender schools was conducted to examine how single gender schooling affected the academic achievement of African American males in a high-poverty urban community. This study examined the differences in TSI and EOC scores between African American males who attended a single gender male high school and a traditionally mixed gender high school serving students in the same community in Fort Worth, Texas. A two sample t-test was used to compare the STAAR and TSI scores of the two groups of African American males. Microsoft Excel was used to collect the descriptive statistical data and analysis was conducted in SPSS version 25.0 for Windows. A detailed description of the participants, the research design that was used in the study, a description of instruments that was used to analyze the data, research problem, research questions on which the study was based, and a description of data analysis methods that was used. This quantitative research compared the STAAR and TSI scores in language arts, math, and reading. The findings of study indicate the single-gender school model impacts the academic achievement of African American males in a particular community in Fort Worth, Texas. The single-gender school had 100% of the African American males in its first graduating class during the 2017-2018 school year were accepted into college.




The Impact of Publicy-funded Single-gender Learning Environments on Sixth Grade Male Academic Performance


Book Description

This study compares two educational models to investigate whether differences exist in academic achievement among boys in single- gender model and those in a traditional co-gender model. Specifically, the study analyzed archival data from the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness to ascertain the efficacy of single-sex education for middle school boys. A quantitative comparative research design was chosen to compare the student achievement outcomes between two educational models to determine if the single-gender model offers advantages over the traditional co-educational model. The study utilized numerical datasets archival data consisting of the STAAR reading and STAAR math scores of student samples at two different school models: one sample comprised of minority males attending a single-sex publicly-funded middle school and another sample comprised of minority males attending a traditional co- gender publicly-funded middle schools. The study results, affirm that students attending a single-sex school fared better academically than their peers educated in co-gender learning environments, are consistent with the research of Brown (2008), which evaluated the academic outcomes of a specific group of students after they were separated into single-sex classes, although in the same school, and compared their academic performance with their peers that remained in co- gender classes. The result: students in the single-sex classes excelled over their peers that remained in the co-gender classes, even to the extent that students who had been academically unsuccessful in the past became very successful in the single-sex environment and test stores showed drastic improvement. This research study is essential because it examines a relatively new academic model in public education. It is widely held that separating boys from girls into single-sex learning environments is the best way to meet the unique academic needs and improve the educational outcomes of both groups. A focus on the impact of publicly funded single- sex learning environments is especially important considering that the number of single- sex public schools is on the rise in the United States and that they are most often developed as a means to target and address the low academic performance of minority males.




Single-gender School Settings and Student Achievement


Book Description

The purpose of this study was to compare the academic success of female students selected to enter the single-gender school and female students' eligible but not selected to the single-gender school setting. Since single-gender settings are reported to narrow the academic achievement gap of underprivileged students, especially minority inner-city students, this population received additional review. Proponents of single-gender education have argued that boys and girls have different learning styles and need to be educated separately for maximum academic success (Sax, 2010). Single-gender education advocates believe in an equal but separate educational system based on the idea that males and females are fundamentally different and thus have different needs (Sax, 2010; Spielhagen, 2011). Unfortunately, there is no direct evidence that single-gender settings improve outcomes for all students, since nearly all existing single-gender schools are private schools where student backgrounds are quite different from those in most public schools (Billger, 2009). Assessing the advantages and disadvantages of single-gender classes and schools is not only a "complicated question" (Salomone, 2003, p. xi), but also a political one involving education policy makers, politicians, social reformers and parents and college administrators (Jackson, 2002; Salomone, 2006). The student results provided meaningful implications within the field of single-gender education. In addition, implications within the focus of cultural capital were provided. These implications are presented in three sections, including research, theory, and practice. Knowing that students from minority, low socioeconomic groups are falling farther behind the White, non-economically disadvantaged students, the results of this study indicate the need to continue to research this setting. Based upon this study, it seems prudent to look at the single-gender setting specifically as a way for this grouping to raise student achievement. Specifically, knowing that students from minority and economically disadvantaged/low socioeconomic backgrounds are particularly at risk of failing, this research is timely and valuable.







A Study of Female Academic Performance in Mathematics and Science Courses in Public, Single-gender Schools


Book Description

This was a non-experimental, quantitative study that used causal-comparative research design to investigate academic performance among female students attending public, single-gender schools and public, co-educational schools. Specifically, this study focused on the performance of seventh-grade students in the disciplines of mathematics and science in Georgia. The study used ex post facto data to compare the state administered standardized test scores of students in public, single-gender schools in Georgia to the test scores of students in public, co-educational schools in Georgia with similar socioeconomic status (SES). The purpose of this study was to explore whether attending a single-gender school improved female students' academic performance. This study compared the academic performance of female students in the fields of mathematics and science in the seventh-grade who attended a public, co-educational school to those who attended a public, single-gender school using Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) scores. The need for this study arose after the relaxation of Title IX regulations in the United States which resulted in the creation of public, single-gender schools throughout the United States. The results of this study do not provide empirical support for the creation of public, single-gender schools in the United States in order to improve female academic performance in the disciplines of mathematics and science.




An Investigation of the Effect of Single-gendered Instruction on Achievement in Math and English in an Urban High School


Book Description

Since the inception of the No Child Left Behind Act, many initiatives have been implemented to increase academic achievement. Single-gender education is an initiative that public schools have adopted with the hope of seeing boys and girls achieve significant gains in their core classes. This study explored the achievement levels of 9 th grade girls and boys in their English I and algebra I classes. After a year of learning in single-gender classes, the students' End of Course scores were compared to the previous cohort of students who were taught in a traditional co-educational format by using an independent t-test. Scores were inputted in SPSS and analyzed. Eight research questions were formed to discover if significant differences from the co-educational year to the single-gender year existed. Results showed that there was a significant difference between the achievement of students who took single-gender English I classes compared to students who took co-educational English I classes, with single-gender English classes outperforming co-educational English classes. Results also showed that there was a significant difference between the achievement of students who took single-gender algebra I classes and students who took co-educational algebra I classes, with co-educational algebra I classes outperforming single-gender algebra I classes. Qualitative research is needed in the future to determine if teacher/ student training and perceptions of single-gender education impacted the data.




GENDER-BASED EDUCATION: THE PILOT YEAR OF SINGLE-GENDER CLASSES AT A PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.


Book Description

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires public schools to be highly accountable for dollars spent on education and for the achievement of students. To support this mandate, the law expanded local control and allowed schools to explore innovative ways to enhance student learning (U.S.D.E., 2004). Given the opportunity, some public schools have experimented with single-gender classes as an avenue for improving the way students are taught. Studies have indicated that separating students according to gender has a positive impact on learning (e.g., Haag, 2000; Maslen, 2001; and Sommers, 2001). Single-gender settings have also been reported to have a positive affect on the attitudes of students (NASSPE, 2004b; Colley et al., 1994, James & Richards, 2003; and Rowe, 2000). Because single-gender classes were not an option in the public school sector in recent years, most current studies of single-gender education involve private and parochial schools. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the initial impact of implementing gender-based instruction in a suburban public elementary school in central Mississippi. The impact was analyzed in terms of the overall perceptions of the administrator, teachers, students, and parents who participated in the pilot program. The impact was also measured by the students' performance in the areas of academic achievement, school attendance, and classroom behavior during the pilot year of fifth-grade, single-gender classes. The results of the study indicated the overall perceptions of the participants were favorable toward single-gender classes. The students maintained approximately the same level of academic achievement in fifth-grade, single-gender classes as in fourth-grade coeducational classes. They produced an average of 2.6 years (grade equivalent) growth in Accelerated Math during the year of single-gender classes. The average daily attendance was consistent with previous attendance patterns and exceeded the distr.




A Comparison of Student Achievement and Behavior in Single Sex and Mixed Sex Classroom in a Rural Georgia Middle School


Book Description

Author's abstract: In an attempt to improve its already excellent standardized test scores by addressing the needs of struggling students, Cardinal Forest Middle School implemented single-sex education on a limited scope and on a trial basis. Using the theoretical framework of Schwab’s four commonplaces, the academic and behavioral records of single-sex educated and co-educated students from the year prior to and year of single-sex team teaching were compared. An analysis of covariance was utilized to analyze the academic and behavioral data and to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in the single-sex classroom achievement scores versus the coeducational classroom achievement scores. These analyses showed no statistically significant differences between the groups on the achievement measures during the years of single sex education. In addition, behavioral records were analyzed to show the difference between the single-sex students and coeducational students in the sixth grade and seventh grade. The results showed the discipline referral percentage increased for the single-sex male, but the discipline referral percentage decreased for the coeducational males, single-sex females, and coeducational females. Qualitative data gathered from interviewing three of the four teachers involved in the teaching of the single-sex classes showed the teachers’ perspectives as being favorable to the single-sex classroom and to the belief that the students in the single-sex classrooms benefitted not only academically but socially as well.




The Effect of Individualized Self-paced Single-gender Classrooms on Reading and Math Scores at the McLennan County Challenge Academy in Waco, Texas


Book Description

The intent of this study is to determine the effects on the reading and math scores of females segregated into single-gender alternative classrooms that had the benefit of an individualized, self-paced curriculum. The Challenge Academy testing clerk, using the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement in the areas of reading and math, collected data on the students' first and last days of enrollment. Significant main effects for gender, time, educational status, age, and ethnicity were probed using a general linear model of repeated measures. This quantitative model was used because it provided more flexibility to describe the relationship between a dependent variable and a set of independent variables, manipulated one at a time. Comparisons of between-subject effects and within-subject effects were made using a summary ANOVA followed by ad hoc testing when significance was found when there were three factors being tested, such as school age group and ethnicity. Significance was set at 0.025. Of the 500 students enrolled over the seven-year existence of the program, only students who had been pre and post tested were included in this research. After removing students who did not meet the criteria, a sample of 150 students remained. This resulted in small and non-existent cell sample sizes, and adjustments were made to the original intent of the study. The findings observed in this body of research suggest that the gains achieved by males in reading surpassed those of females. Both genders achieved equally in math. A statistical comparison based on gender in special education, school age group, or ethnicity could not be made due to small cell size. Recommendations for further studies include: (1) a study using a larger sample size allowing for greater numbers in each category; (2) longitudinal studies in elementary, middle, and high schools using annual TAKS scores as the data source; (3) a study considering the gender of the instructor; (4) a study comparing high schools whose majority school population represented each of the three ethnic groups; (5) a study of private schools with single-gender populations.