THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE-SEX AND MIXED-SEX MATHEMATICS CLASSES WITHIN A COEDUCATIONAL SCHOOL - A REANALYSIS AND COMMENT

ROWE (1988) and Rowe, Nix, and Tepper (1986) compared single-sex and m ixed-sex mathematics classes within a coeducational school in one of t he few studies to use a true experimental design in which students wer e randomly assigned to class-types, and they claimed that the study pr ovided strong support for single-sex classes, particularly for girls. However a critical reanalysis of the results indicated that the random ly assigned class-type intervention had relatively little effect on ma thematics achievement or attitudes, and that at least some of the sign ificant effects favoured mixed-sex classes. Furthermore the limited su pport for single-sex classes seemed to be stronger for boys than for g irls. Whereas unanticipated difficulties in the research design compli cate interpretations, claims that students randomly assigned to single -sex classes did better than students randomly assigned to mixed-sex c lasses are unwarranted.