The Power of an All Girls' Education

Girls enrolled in a single-sex environment report having more-confidence than their peers at a co-educational institution. Some even report that their college professors can spot an all-girls’ school graduate.

Quick Facts

• A single-sex program creates an institutional classroom climate in which female students can express themselves freely and frequently, enabling them to develop higher-order thinking skills.
• The robust learning environment encountered by students at an all-girls’ school is highlighted by a recent survey of high school students.  The girls’ responses provide unequivocal support for the value of an all-girls educational environment.
  

• More than 80% of all-girls’ school grads consider their academic performance highly successful.
• Nearly 80% of all-girls’ school students report that most of their classes challenge them to achieve their full academic potential (compared to 72.3% of girls at co-ed private and 44.3% at co-ed public schools).

• Programs at all-girls’ schools focus on the development of teamwork over other qualities of leadership, while the qualities of confidence, compassion, and resilience also ranked prominently.

• Graduates from an all-girls’ school are six (6) times more likely to consider majoring in math, science, and technology compared to girls who attend co-ed schools.
• Compared to their co-ed peers, graduates of all-girls’ schools are three (3) times more likely to consider a career in engineering. 

• To be successful, students need more than just a feeling of support.  That support must translate in actions geared toward student success.  Nearly 96% of all-girls’ school students report receiving more frequent feedback on their assignments and other course work (compared to 79% of girls at co-ed public schools).
• A study prepared for the U.S. Department of Education observed, “more positive academic and behavioral interactions between teachers and students in the single-sex schools than in comparison to co-ed schools.”

• Girls in single-sex schools receive a benefit from the single-sex school environment of heightened career aspirations – an effect unprecedented in any other portion of our study.
• Students at all-girls’ schools have higher aspirations and greater motivation than their female peers at co-ed private and public schools.  More than two-thirds (2/3) expect to earn a graduate or professional degree.

• Research indicates that girls place more emphasis on interpersonal relationships than boys, which may provide girls with beneficial social support.  Compared to boys, girls are more likely to socialize in smaller groups, share more personal information with each other, and emphasize helping behavior over competitive behavior in their friendships. 

• Nearly 50% of all women graduating from single-sex schools rate their public speaking ability as high (compared to 38.5% of women graduates from co-ed schools).  A similar differential exists for writing abilities.  Approximately two-thirds (2/3) of girls’ school graduates assess their writing as high (compared to about one-half (1/2 or 50%) of women graduates of co-ed schools).
• In the world outside of school, the answers are not always found in the textbook.  All-girls’ schools prepare students for the world beyond school by requiring outside research, encouraging them to connect ideas across problems and disciplines, and challenging them to grapple with problems that have no clear solution.

• Over 88% of all-girls’ school students report they are comfortable being themselves at school, which means they are free to focus their energies on their learning.
• 93% of all-girls’ school grads are extremely satisfied with their school’s ability to provide individualized attention.