Highlighted in the current National Coalition of Girls’ Schools newsletter is a UCLA study confirming the lasting affects of a girls school education on graduates. I find the most interesting aspect of the study coming from its longitudinal view. Alumnae seem to carry and benefit from their girls school experiences deep into college and graduate work. I’d love to know if girls school alumnae and their coeducation alumnae ever gain equal education footing? Just how deep into life do these advantages carry?

Interesting work.

“According to the UCLA report, which was commissioned by the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, girls’ school graduates consistently assess their abilities, self-confidence, engagement and ambition as either above average or in the top 10 percent. Compared to their coed peers, they have more confidence in their mathematics and computer abilities and study longer hours. They are more likely to pursue careers in engineering, engage in political discussions, keep current with political affairs, and see college as a stepping stone to graduate school…

    (Skipping over data conclusions)

As the UCLA study points out, girls’ schools graduates rate themselves more successful and engaged in precisely those areas in which male students have historically surpassed them – mathematics, computers, engineering, and politics. The findings may undermine opponents of girls’ schools, who argue that single-sex education accentuates sex-based stereotypes and widens the gender gap.”