Single-sex classes -- solution or fad?District 88 to pursue

option locally

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- For some looking to improve student achievement, the solution is simple, if quaint -- separate the girls from the boys.

The idea of single-sex classes -- a controversial element of the Bush administration's education policy -- is now taking a local foothold.

Starting next semester, New Ulm Public High School will be offering two single-sex classes. One is freshman composite science. The other is government, a class generally taken by juniors and seniors.

The local experiment with single-sex education follows changes in federal anti-discrimination laws -- the 1972 Title IX regulations best known for proliferating women's sports programs.

The changes -- and subsequent Department of Education action -- make it easier for school districts to offer single-sex classes in public schools -- making federal funds available to districts willing to try the approach.

As the legal changes occurred, they were widely reported in education and mainstream media, explains District 88 Curriculum Director Bill Sprung.

So, several local board and committee members asked questions, prompting the district to take a further look at the matter.

Two panels of educators and parents-- the District Community Advisory Council (DCAC) and the Instructional Strategies Subcommittee of the Long Range Planning Task Force -- reviewed the available research, says Sprung.

Predictably, they found that the data is mixed.

"In some cases, student attitudes about subject matter, student participation and student learning improved, as compared to regular classrooms," said Sprung.

"In other cases, there was no difference between regular and single-sex classrooms."

After the data was reviewed and discussed, the panelists were polled, said Sprung.

Interestingly, 33 percent said that District 88 should pursue single-sex classrooms; 42 percent said "maybe"; and 25 percent opposed them.

Taking a clue from these numbers, the local Board of Education decided to allow some single-sex courses -- so it can learn about the effect on students.

In each case, there will be a section of boys, a section of girls, and several sections of mixed classes, says Sprung.

"The intent is to review the achievement levels in all sections, as well as survey students about attitudinal and participation levels. This will provide local data about impact," says Sprung.

Because students are only in one single-sex class, diversity should not be an issue, observes Sprung. Students will be in "the general student population" the remaining six periods each day.

Teachers and parents see single-sex classes as a potential way to better address a documented difference of achievement between girls and boys.

According to District 88 data, for example, the majority of New Ulm high school students in the top 15 percent of the class are female. On the flip side, the majority of elementary students in New Ulm receiving remedial help are male.

"I am pleased that board members and parent committee members take seriously the mission of the school district to achieve educational excellence," says Sprung.

"They have reviewed the data and found that there is potential for increased educational achievement with little downside."

"I'm also encouraged that they have taken an approach that will allow us to study the impact of this instructional strategy with smaller sample sizes."