The Washington Post (9/23, Chandler, 572K) reports that according to a new study, single-gender education is "based on weak, 'misconstrued' scientific claims, not solid research." The study concludes that such "sex segregation increases gender stereotyping and legitimizes institutionalized sexism," and its authors "call on President Obama to rescind regulatory changes spurred by the 2002 federal No Child Left Behind law that made way for more single-sex classes in public schools." The Post describes the civil rights-centered debate over same-gender education, and notes that the "study represents a new front in the battle by challenging varying interpretations of burgeoning brain research."
Noting that the study will be published in Science magazine, and that its authors have founded the nonprofit American Council for CoEducational Schooling, the New York Times (9/23, Lewin, Subscription Publication, 950K) reports that the study is "likely to ignite...legal wrangling about the effects of single-sex education. It asserts that 'sex-segregated education is deeply misguided and often justified by weak, cherry-picked or misconstrued scientific claims rather than by valid scientific evidence.'" The study stresses that single-sex education "reduces boys' and girls' opportunities to work together, and reinforces sex stereotypes." The Times notes parenthetically that Education Secretary Arne Duncan praised Chicago's Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men, while former ED official Diane Ravitch criticized the school's low test scores.
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