Single-Sex Education Put To The Test

(CBS)  There's something different about Miami's Young Women's Preparatory Academy. There are smaller classes, and there's no whispering or giggling. Teenagers are actually concentrating, CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports.

What's different about it?

"There are no boys," one girl says. That's because the magnet school just became all-girls — and the middle-schoolers there love it. There is no one judging how they look or what questions they ask.

"I concentrate more. I'm much more focused," says seventh-grader Daniela Vidal, adding that boys made sixth grade miserable. "They make lots of noise, and yell and scream, and throw stuff across the class," Daniela says. She doesn't miss that "at all."

But the school is a rarity in America's public education. There are 93,000 public schools, but only 241 of them even offer single-sex classes.

The big question is whether separating the sexes improves learning.

"A math book should take precedence over a boy," teacher Anthony Cabrera says. "And that can happen here."

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FYI: More On Single-Sex Classrooms

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But like so much of school, this approach has a report card — and the grades on single-sex classes are mixed.

The girls in the Miami school are happy. But critics worry that, in the end, their education just won't be as good.

"I thnk we do want a quality education for all our children, but we don't want to do it in a way that turns the clock back," says Marsha Greenberger of the National Women's Law Center.

But three years ago, Woodward Elementary near Orlando, Fla., separated boys and girls. The school's standardized test scores have jumped for both genders. After two years of same-sex classes, 71 percent of students beat the national average in reading, and 79 percent beat it in math.

Fifth-grader Corbin McDonald says when the girls went out, his grades went up.

"They always bugged me and started talking. It's hard to focus," he says.

[uoflfan14]

They would be crazy to do this at all schools. I see school as a place to learn but did you know that nearly all of my firends (girls and guys) were from school. They should not just look at the report card but also social. It is very important to know people because you never know in the future.

[broken_heart-2009]

Gee makes me think if my high school is going to do that? From what has been read in this article, if test scores show that students learn better in a same gender environment, I'd rather go to that school.

[gonzo355]

I live in DeLand, FL which this story brushed off as "a town near Orlando", which is over an hour away. We are very proud of our town, which has a name, and we are very proud of our innovative school that was visited by CBS for this item. The school is called WOODWARD ELEMENTARY - NOT Woodland, as it was called on the report. Too bad that those facts were not correct on your report. I suppose that just shows all of the children and their families who excitedly watched the news last night to see the focus on their school how incorrect some stories really are presented. Too bad!!

[dwilliams83]

Anyone who is angry at Katie for her innocent remark is reading entirely too much into that comment. To the viewer who believes that Katie "humiliated" the young boy, it was not that serious. Katie was merely responding as a woman who was once a little girl that some little boy terrorized and harassed. Every little girl has been tormented by a little boy who pulled her hair, threw a frog at her feet, or teased her for running too slow. If all you remember after tonight's newscast was Katie's remark, you failed to notice the Department of Education's tremendous step toward the improvement of public schools by enabling districts to create more single-gender learning environments.

[rick_benz]

I thought that your story on single *** education was both interesting and relevant, as I am presently a (co-ed) high school junior. I also believe that single *** education would quite possibly result in higher test scores and an all-around better educational experience. However, there was one major aspect of this that your story did not cover. Social interactions in school may distract from schoolwork, but if those interactions are postponed until after basic schooling, the consequences could be much more severe. For example, children may not do very well during middle school because they are learning how to interact with the other gender, but middle school success is typically not a major factor in their future. High school is much more important, and could hurt a future if a student was distracted. But even this cannot be as cataclysmic as if the students were first socializing in college, where failure could permanently damage opportunities for employment. And lastly, taken to its logical extreme, if single *** schooling were carried out all the way through college, then men and women would be first associating while trying to do a job, which could be detrimental to productivity. So, what I am trying to say is that although the concept of single *** schooling is an interesting idea, I would like to see more examination of social impact on the students before it is endorsed for widespread use.

[pennypincher]

Male-BASHING appears to now be CBS News anchor policy. Couric's snide comment "sometimes you bug us, too.." to a Fifth-grade boy's opinion is just outrageous. This telecast is carried world-wide. How embarassing for this child. Why did Couric make no similar put-down of the seventh grade girl who made similar comments. Why should she not experience the same nationwide media humiliation.

I thought CBS News had hit rock-bottom with Rather running the newscast. Appears rock-bottom is not low enough.