Same-sex teaching boon for pupils, principal says
Canadian Press
TRAIL, B.C. — Grade 7 boys and girls appear to do better in elementary school if they're separated by gender, an elementary school principal says.
Girls and boys in Grade 7 at Glenmerry elementary have been separated for three years.
The students' Foundation Skills Assessment scores have been rising and exceed district and provincial levels, said principal Kere MacGregor.
“We believe the same-sex class has made a difference,” he said.
“Girls were far outperforming boys and now we see that gap has been compressed and even inverted where boys are now exceeding girls in some areas.”
Three years ago, staff at Glenmerry decided to embark on the project that put boys and girls in separate classes except for music and French and one phys-ed class.
Grade 7 scores at Glenmerry have hit an all-time high, beating out both the district and provincial levels.
Foundation Skills Assessment tests are given annually in British Columbia to all Grade 4 and Grade 7 students and focus on reading comprehension, writing and math skills.
Recent math skills saw boys at 100 per cent and girls at 88 per cent, reading comprehension scores came in at 86 per cent for the boys, 82 per cent for the girls, and writing scores hit 100 per cent for all students.
School trustee Mickey Kinakin was astonished at the high scores and wondered about the validity of the tests.
“These are amazing increases,” he said. “When there are 100 per cent scores, it usually means there are problems with the instrument.”
Mr. McGregor said the test is only one indicator that the same-sex classes are making a difference.
“We use other forms of assessment in reading, writing and numeracy,” he said.
As for the gender-splitting project, Mr. McGregor said it makes sense at the Grade 7 level.
Boys and girls access different areas of their brains and use different strategies to learn, he said.
Girls ask more questions, boys are more task-oriented and more self-centred.
Where boys worry about themselves, girls worry about the group, he said.
Segregating them has taken away those social pressures, Mr. McGregor said.