Students who attend single sex schools are no better educated than those who attend co-ed schools.

Well, in America anyway.

America’s ABC reports:

Interesting but wait. It’s important to note that this study came out of America. Australia is different because single-sex schools here are almost always also private schools. Thus there are a a whole raft of other issues that come in to play when assessing the academic performance of single-sex vs co-ed schools.

Advocates of single-sex education insist girls benefit in ways that aren’t just measured academically. For example at a girls’ school, they’re more likely to try non-traditional subjects.

According to the National Association For Single Sex Public Education (NASSPE)

So what about the social implications. Again, this is what NASSPE has to say:

Not everyone shares this view of course. According to an article in the Brisbane Times:

Principal Jon Charlton from the small, independent school formerly known as Kilvington Girls Grammar which turned co-ed this year, had this to say in an interview with The Age just before the change took place:

What do you think? Are girls better off at single-sex schools? What about boys? Are there other things just as important as academic results? What were your schooling experiences and if you have kids, what decisions have you or will you make for them?