THE IMPACT OF PUBLICY- FUNDED SINGLE-GENDER LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS ON SIXTH GRADE MALE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

This study compares two educational models to investigate whether differences exist in academic achievement among boys in single- gender model and those in a traditional co-gender model. Specifically, the study analyzed archival data from the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness to ascertain the efficacy of single-sex education for middle school boys. A quantitative comparative research design was chosen to compare the student achievement outcomes between two educational models to determine if the single-gender model offers advantages over the traditional co-educational model. The study utilized numerical datasets archival data consisting of the STAAR reading and STAAR math scores of student samples at two different school models: one sample comprised of minority males attending a single-sex publicly-funded middle school and another sample comprised of minority males attending a traditional co- gender publicly-funded middle schools. The study results, affirm that students attending a single-sex school fared better academically than their peers educated in co-gender learning environments, are consistent with the research of Brown (2008), which evaluated the academic outcomes of a specific group of students after they were separated into single-sex classes, although in the same school, and compared their academic performance with their peers that remained in co- gender classes. The result: students in the single-sex classes excelled over their peers that remained in the co-gender classes, even to the extent that students who had been academically unsuccessful in the past became very successful in the single-sex environment and test stores showed drastic improvement. This research study is essential because it examines a relatively new academic model in public education. It is widely held that separating boys from girls into single-sex learning environments is the best way to meet the unique academic needs and improve the educational outcomes of both groups. A focus on the impact of publicly funded single- sex learning environments is especially important considering that the number of single- sex public schools is on the rise in the United States and that they are most often developed as a means to target and address the low academic performance of minority males.Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Department o