Single-Sex Schools Performed Better Than Co-ed Schools: Analysis

Schoolgirls wait with their mobile phones up for the arrival of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at Macarthur Girls High School in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 19, 2018. Phil Noble - Pool/Getty Images

The debate over school choices is back in the spotlight after new analysis shows single-sex schools have better academic performance than co-ed schools, according to the latest NAPLAN results.

A newly released discussion paper (pdf) from Catholic Schools New South Wales (NSW) reveals that the difference in academic achievement is generally more notable for boys than girls.

The results also vary by subject, with a significant difference in boys’ schools for Numeracy, but little difference for girls in areas like Reading.

If socio-educational factors are not considered, for year 9 students, the average grade in co-ed schools is 577 compared to 610 in single-sex schools.

In terms of reading, the average National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) result for year 5 students in co-ed schools was 509 compared to 552 in single-sex schools.

In terms of numeracy, the average grade for year 5 students in co-ed schools was 494 compared to 539 in single-sex schools, while the average grade for year 9 students in co-ed schools was 587 compared to 622 in single-sex schools.

School students are seen in Brisbane, Australia, on May 2, 2018. AAP Image/Dan Peled

The paper examined the average NAPLAN scores across 2019, 2020, and 2022, and is restricted to NAPLAN results in reading and numeracy, and student grade levels Year 5 and Year 9.

The results cover about 8,000 schools and 1.6 million students across three years of assessments.

Findings show the proportion of students educated in co-ed schools has been falling over the last decade. While nationwide enrolments have been rising in girls’ schools and remained steady in boys’ schools.

The paper conceded that the debate on school choice was “unlikely to be settled any time soon” because there was no hard right or wrong decision when it came to educational choices.

Parents need to weigh a range of factors, including the admissions policy regarding gender.

“While the vast majority of parents will choose a co-educational school, there is a substantial share who believe a particular single-sex school is best for their child,” the paper noted.

“As the ‘first educators of children,’ parents are best placed to make this decision, rather than researchers or education bureaucrats.”

“Thus, the debate on single-sex vs. co-ed schools is not a question that is easily settled by literature review or data analysis, but rather is a matter of parental choice and family preferences.”

Research Findings Are Divided

When it comes to exploring the link between academic performance and gender, the research is contested.

The Australian Council for Educational Research said that single-sex schools generally have “no better value-add over time” in numeracy achievement and even a decline in reading achievement over time compared to co-ed schools.

Their research uses NAPLAN results from 2010-2012 of students in Years 3, 5, and 7.

On the other hand, a 2013 study by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research found that students from single-sex schools scored higher in university entrance exams than co-ed schools, after accounting for the students’ socio-economic backgrounds.

Sexual Harassment And Social Interaction

Debates surrounding single-sex and co-ed schools are not limited to academic performance.

Research from 2007 showed that boys were given more attention and called on more often than girls in mixed-gender classes.

A 2016 British parliamentary inquiry found that girls in co-ed schools have a high risk of being victims of daily sexual harassment, with 29 percent of girls aged 16-18 subject to unwanted sexual touching at school, while “nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of all 16-18-year-old boys and girls say they hear terms such as ”slut“ or ”slag” used towards girls at schools on a regular basis.

South Australia Associate Professor Judith Gill argued that co-ed schooling is a positive because “having separate schools seems to be one of the clearest demarcations of boys one way, girls are another way.”

“Together they are less likely to see the opposite gender as an entirely exotic beast but rather just the array of personal attributes that people can choose,” she told the Courier Mail in 2018.

However, Loren Bridge, the executive officer of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia argued that single-sex schools gave girls the “social and emotional support, confidence, and approach to challenges, risks, and leadership opportunities.”

“Simply put, every aspect of a girls’ school is tailored to girls and how they learn, without competition and social pressure from boys, and this is enormously empowering for girls in their teenage years,” she argued in an opinion piece in 2018.

“They are free to experiment and explore, they can follow their ambitions without wasting a second thought on how male counterparts might perceive them. And the same applies to boys in all-boys schools who don’t have to worry about how girls perceive them.”

For example, she noted that without the presence of boys, girls are more motivated to get into sport and physical activity, to pursue STEM subjects, and have confidence in these areas.

Ms. Bridge noted that boys and girls have ample opportunities to socialise with each other both during school organised co-ed activities and after school.