William Raspberry may think “Separated by Sex: A Critical Look at Single-Sex Education for Girls,” the new report by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation, is more spin than substance (Op-Ed, March 17). But his views are not shared by educators across America who have found its findings significant.
AAUW sent out the report in advance of its release date precisely because it is the most comprehensive report of its kind and to give reporters and columnists an opportunity to digest it. It contains not just the four papers referred to by Raspberry but a thorough and complex analysis of all the available research to date–more than 100 studies–on single-sex education in the United States and abroad since 1980.
Although the report is fueling controversy between those who advocate single-sex schooling and those who oppose it in public education, its significance is not lost on those in the trenches, nor those at the national level. Richard Howard, assistant superintendent for curriculum in Blue Springs, Mo., agrees with the report.
Although his district has launched an all-girls math class pilot program, administrators, according to Howard, realize that the long-term solution starts with looking at the way boys and girls are taught, starting in grade school. Moreover, Department of Education Secretary Richard Riley says that the key finding of “Separated by Sex” is that any school, single-sex or coed, that sets high standards and has a rigorous academic program will give young women the skills they need to succeed.
What Raspberry and AAUW can agree on is his bottom line: Single-sex education does not solve the problem of gender inequality. The long-term solution requires that we focus attention on providing the best educational conditions and practices possible to girls and boys so all students can succeed and develop to their full potential.
