Would you support single sex classrooms in public schools?

MIDDLETON, Idaho -- Robin Gilbert didn't set out to confront gender stereotypes when she split up the boys and girls at her elementary school in rural southwestern Idaho.

But that's exactly what happened, with her Middleton Heights Elementary now among dozens of public schools nationwide being targeted by the American Civil Liberties Union in a bitter struggle over whether single-sex learning should be continued. Under pressure, single-sex programs have been dropped at schools from Missouri to Louisiana.



Single-sex classes began proliferating after the U.S. Education Department relaxed restrictions in 2006. With research showing boys, particularly minority boys, are graduating at lower rates than girls and faring worse on tests, plenty of schools were paying attention.


Research shows that girls in single-sex schools have more confidence and are afforded more leadership opportunities than they would have in coed schools, the Times and Fox News Channel reported Thursday.

Boys at primary school perform 'significantly' better in English tests if they are taught in classes with fewer girls, a new study claims.

Research from Bristol University, which used data from every state school in England, found that as the proportion of girls rose, the results achieved by their male classmates fell. Steven Proud, who carried out the work, concluded it 'might be beneficial for boys to be educated in single-sex classes' in English.