girls are far more likely to thrive, get gcses and stay in education if they go to a single-sex school, according to new research, which reveals pupils who are struggling academically when they start secondary school reap the biggest rewards of girls-only schooling.
the analysis of the gcse scores of more than 700,000 girls taught in the state sector concludes that those at girls' schools consistently made more progress than those in co-ed secondaries.
the fact that pupils with the lowest test scores when they started secondary made the biggest leap in girls' school will reopen the debate about whether more children should have access to a single-sex education in order to drive up results.
the number of girls schools has dwindled in the state sector since the 1970s and has been dropping more recently among private schools, as more and more parents demand co-ed schools. only 221,000 girls and 160,000 boys are now taught in state single sex secondaries out of a total school population of more than 3.5 million.
the research, conducted on behalf of the good schools guide, looked at the "contextually value added" scores for every girl who took gcses in the state sector between 2005 and 2007. grammar schools were excluded. the government introduced value added scores to rate the progress pupils make between the end of primary school and gcses taking into account their socio-economic backgrounds.
of the 71,286 girls who sat gcses in single-sex schools over the three-year period, on average all did better than predicted on the basis of their end of primary sats results. by comparison, of the 647,942 who took exams in mixed-sex schools, 20% did worse than expected.
in the value added score, in which a zero score indicates a child achieving the gcse results expected on the basis of their sats results at 11, the lowest 10% achievers who went to girls' schools scored on average 17. among the lowest 10% achievers in mixed schools that score was -10. it means girls who start secondary struggling with their work are more likely to get gcses and stay on at school to do a-levels.
janette wallis, editor of the good schools guide, said: "a lot of parents will look at the benefits of co-ed schools, like the fact that girls and boys are educated side-by-side preparing them for the world of work and life. but to disregard this evidence would be a mistake. we never expected to see such a difference."
she said the effect could be down to girls working better without boys "distracting" them but acknowledged the fact that educationally aspirant parents could seek out girls-only schools, which could also make a difference.
alice sullivan, a researcher at the institute of education, university of london, and a specialist in single-sex schooling, said: "it is very interesting that girls seem to be making more progress at single-sex schools. it does support a body of research evidence that girls do better in single-sex environments."
however, other leading academics said the research was more conflicting. alan smithers, director of education at buckingham university, said: "we know across the piece that the main variables relating to exam success are pupil characteristics, social background and quality of teacher. there is very little space for gender in the classroom to make a difference. where it apparently has an effect it relates to other factors, such as the aspirations of the parents who want their daughter educated in a single-sex school. but if this is true it will change our understanding."
sue dunford, headteacher of southfield school for girls in kettering, said: "it's a question of confidence in the way girls develop. it's cool to be very good at anything in a girls school - maths, sciences or physics. no one will ask why you're doing a boys' subject. girls who lack confidence can thrive more in girls-only schools. we don't have boys competing and distracting, so girls can really go for it."
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研究发现，如果去女校，女孩茁壮成长、获得gcses并坚持接受教育的可能性更大。女孩上了中学以后刻苦学习的最大原因就是来自于女校。
这份分析报告汇集了700，000来自于公立学校女孩的gcses成绩，其结论是相比较男女同校，女校的学生有着更大更持续的进步。
那些开始接受中学教育时分数最低的学生在女子学校的进步最大。这一事实将引发新一轮的讨论：为了更好的结果，更多的孩子是否应该去单一性别的学校。
由于越来越多的父母要求男女同校，从上世纪70年代以来公立女校的数量就在逐渐减少，近来私立女校的数量下降更多。超过3，500，000的中学生中只有221，000个女孩和160，000个男孩在公立女校或男校接受教育。
在“好学校指南”的指导下，这次调查关注的是每个2005到2007年间参加gcses考试女孩的“背景附加值”分数。文法学校不在此列。政府用附加值分数来衡量学生在小学毕业到gcses考试期间的进步，这样就将社会-经济背景考虑进去了。
71，286个在女校中读了三年gcses课程的女孩，一般来说都在她们小学sats成绩的基础上有超出预期的进步。相比之下，在647，942个在混合性别学校参加考试的学生中，20%比预想的要糟一些。
附加值分数为0表明这个孩子的gcse成绩期望值是以sats 11分为基础。10%附加值分数最低的学生，如果就读于女子学校其平均成绩为17，如果去了混合学校则为-10。这意味着，读初中前成绩不好的女生更有可能获得gcse证书并继续在学校上a-levels课程。
好学校指南的编辑janette wallis说：“许多家长关注的都是混合学校的好处，比如男女孩一起接受教育是为将来的工作和生活做准备。但是不考虑这一情况也不对。我们从没想过会有这样的差别。”
她说这一结果可以归因于没有男孩的干扰女孩学习更努力一些。但是知道了这一事实，在教育上期望较高的父母可能会专找女校，而这或许又会产生新的影响。
伦敦大学教育学院的研究员、单性别教育的专家alice sullivan说：“很有趣的是女孩在女校里进步更大一些。这确实为研究提供了很多女孩在单性别环境中更出色的证据。
然而，其他一些重要学者认为这一研究与实际不一致。白金汉大学的教务主任alan smithers说：“我们知道在校期间，影响考试成绩的主要因素是学生的特点、社会背景以及老师的质量。而性别在教室里可以产生影响的空间很小，即使明显产生影响也是因为它牵扯到了其它因素，比如那些希望女儿在女校接受教育的父母的热切期望。但如果这是真的，我们的认识将会发生改变。
位于凯特林的南田女校的校长sue dunford说：“问题在于女孩成长时的自信。在女校擅长数学、科学及物理是件很酷的事情，没人会问你为什么要做男孩感兴趣的事情。缺乏自信的女孩在女校可以更好地成长：我们没有男孩的竞争和感染，所以女孩们可以专注于学业。