Single-Sex vs Co-educational High Schools Reading Answers

Single-Sex vs Coeducational High Schools

Female graduates of single-sex high schools demonstrate stronger academic orientations than their coeducational counterparts across a number of different categories, including higher levels of academic engagement, SAT scores, and confidence in mathematical ability and computer skills, according to a UCLA report.

The report's findings, drawn from multiple categories, including self-confidence, political and social activism, life goals, and career orientation, reveal that female graduates of single-sex schools demonstrate greater academic engagement: Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of single-sex independent school alumnae report spending 11 or more hours per week studying or doing homework in high school, compared with less than half (42 percent) of female graduates of coeducational independent schools.

This research draws data from the annual Freshman Survey, administered by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. The report, which separately considers female students from independent and Catholic high schools nationwide, is based on a comparison of the responses of 6,552 female graduates of 225 private single-sex high schools with those of 14,684 women who graduated from 1,169 private coeducational high schools.

Linda J. Sax, associate professor of education at the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies and the principal investigator of the study, said: "The generally stronger academic orientations of girls-school alumnae ought to serve them well as they arrive at college, though it remains to be seen whether these advantages are sustained once they are immersed in a coeducational college environment."

Female graduates of single-sex high schools also show higher levels of political engagement, greater interest in engineering careers, measurably more self-confidence in public speaking and a stronger predisposition towards co-curricular engagement.

"The culture, climate and community of girls' schools as a transforming force speaks loud and clear in the results of this study and confirms that at girls' schools it's 'cool to be smart'— there's a culture of achievement in which a girl's academic progress is of central importance, and the discovery and development of her individual potential is paramount," said Meg Milne Moulton, executive director of the National Coalition of Girls' Schools, which commissioned the study. Among the report's key findings was that women who attended single-sex schools tended to outperform their coeducational counterparts: Mean SAT composite scores (verbal plus math) were 43 points higher for female single-sex graduates in the independent school sector and 28 points higher for single-sex alumnae in the Catholic school sector.

Graduates of single-sex schools also enter college with greater confidence in their mathematical and computer abilities. The gap in math confidence is most pronounced in the independent school sector, where 48 percent of female graduates of single-sex independent schools rate their math ability "above average" or in the "highest 10 percent," compared with 37 percent of independent coeducational female graduates.

Confidence in computer skills is also higher among female graduates of single-sex independent schools, with 36 percent rating themselves in the highest categories, compared with 26 percent of female graduates of coeducational independent schools. Additionally, 35 percent of female graduates of single-sex catholic schools rate their computer skills as "above average" or in the "highest 10 percent," compared with 27 percent of their coeducational counterparts. In an indication of greater, though still low, interest in the field of engineering, alumnae of single-sex independent schools are three times more likely than those from coeducational independent schools to report that they intend to pursue a career in engineering (4.4 percent vs. 1.4 percent).

"Though generally small, many of the favourable outcomes for single-sex alumnae are in areas that have historically witnessed gender gaps favouring men, such as in mathematics, computer science and engineering,” Sax said. “Research is needed to clarify whether these benefits are due specifically to gender composition or to the climate and pedagogy that exist in all-girls schools."

In addition to providing descriptive comparisons between single-sex and coeducational alumnae, the study also reports on the many ways in which the single-sex effect remains significant after accounting for key differences between these groups in terms of school characteristics (such as enrolment, location and course offerings) and the demographic backgrounds of the women who attend all-girls schools (such as race/ethnicity, family income and parental education).
These results provide further evidence of the role of single-sex education in promoting women's academic and political engagement, confidence in math and computer skills, and interest in engineering careers.

Questions 1-5

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. The UCLA research focuses on
   1. Non-academic areas only.
   2. Academic areas only.
   3. Graduate studies.
   4. More than one area.
2. The UCLA report compares
   1. Female and male graduates.
   2. Female graduates with high school students.
   3. Female students from two types of schools.
   4. Independent schools with catholic schools.
3. According to Linda J Sax, the graduates from only-girls school
   1. Perform better at coeducational colleges.
   2. Are expected to benefit from their stronger academic orientations.
   3. Find it hard to adjust to the coeducational environment.
   4. Must retain their academic inclinations in college.
4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a culture of only-girl schools?
   1. Academic development
   2. Dressing smartly
   3. Identifying own talents
   4. Enhancing the capabilities
5. The proportion of girls interested in an engineering career
   1. Is relatively low.
   2. Is higher in independent schools.
   3. Is three times higher compared to boys.
   4. Is higher in coeducational schools compared to single-sex schools.

1. d. More than area 

Explanation: Paragraph 2 - The report's findings, drawn from multiple categories, including self-confidence, political and social activism, life goals, and career orientation, reveal that …

2. c. Female students from two types of schools. 

Explanation: Paragraph 1 - Female graduates of single-sex high schools demonstrate stronger academic orientations than their coeducational counterparts ... 
Paragraph 3 -  The report, which separately considers female students from independent and Catholic high schools nationwide, is based on a comparison of the responses of 6,552 female graduates of 225 private single-sex high schools with those of 14,684 women who
graduated from 1,169 private coeducational high schools.

3. b. Are expected to benefit from their stronger academic orientations. 

Explanation: Paragraph 4 - Linda J. Sax, associate professor ... said: "The generally stronger academic orientations of girls-school alumnae ought to serve them well as they arrive at college, though it remains to be seen whether these advantages are sustained once they are immersed in a coeducational college environment."

4. b. Dressing smartly 

Explanation: Paragraph 6 - "The culture, climate and community of girls' schools as a transforming force speaks loud and clear in the results of this study and confirms that at girls' schools it's 'cool to be smart'— there's a culture of achievement in which a girl's academic progress is of central importance, and the discovery and development of her individual potential is paramount," said Meg Milne Moulton, …

5. a. Is relatively low

Explanation: Paragraph 8 -  In an indication of greater, though still low, interest in the field of engineering, alumnae of single-sex independent schools are three times more likely than those from coeducational independent schools to report that they intend to pursue a career in engineering (4.4 percent vs. 1.4 percent).