FW: Single-Sex Schooling

washingtonpost.com
Editorial
Single-Sex Schooling
Public education needs to look at all choices.

Friday, October 27, 2006; A22



STUDIES OF single-sex education are all over the map, with no one really knowing how effective it is. Still, the decision giving public schools greater freedom to offer all-boys and all-girls instruction is right because of one known certainty: Traditional schools just are not working for a large number of children.

Single-sex education largely disappeared from public schools as a result of the landmark 1972 Title IX law that banned sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. Single-sex instruction was largely limited to gym and sex education classes. Schools for one sex were allowed if a similar school existed for the other sex. The Education Department, in rules announced this week, opened up the field by saying schools can offer single-sex education as long as enrollment is voluntary and if "substantially equal" coeducation is offered to the excluded sex.

Civil rights groups and women's advocates are right to be concerned about possible abuses that could arise from differing assessments of what is "substantially equal," a phrase that, in truth, does give one pause. The past is rife with instances of separate not being equal. But with appropriate safeguards and oversight, communities should have the option to meet the growing demand for single-sex schools. Parents should be able to obtain the appropriate schooling for their children without always having to pay the high tab for private school.

No doubt same-sex schooling is not for everyone and should be offered only under well-thought-out conditions. There is, for example, serious dispute over who would benefit most. Some believe that girls are disadvantaged in traditional classrooms and perform better by themselves. Others contend that low-income children would be helped, while another school of thought argues that high school boys would do better if separated from girls. Such uncertainty points up the need for better research.

Local school districts that want to experiment with single-sex instruction should be encouraged to adopt a meticulous research protocol to demonstrate what works or doesn't work. Then a serious discussion can begin.

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