The Australian Council for Educational Research released fresh research this week which found that students in co-ed schools learn at the same speed or even faster than their segregated counterparts.
“In terms of the compounding influence of being in a single-sex school over time, there appears to be no value add in numeracy achievement and even a decline in reading achievement over time in single-sex schools compared to co-educational schools,” wrote research fellow Katherine Dix.
Dix also noted that single-sex schools are in fast decline – in 2015, just 12 per cent of students attending independent schools were in a single-sex establishment. The paltry figure has fallen from 24 per cent in 1995 and 31 per cent in 1985.
“If this trend continues, there will be no single-sex independent schools in Australia by the year 2035,” wrote Adelaide-based Dix.
Previous research has found that single-sex schools achieve better outcomes but a study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development identified socio-economic factors as the true driving force behind the disparity.