The Girls' School Experience (continued)
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Table 1 Satisfaction with the schools' academics:
| How satisfied were you with your schools in the following ways: | Not at all satisfied (1) | A little satisfied (2) | Moderately satisfied (3) | Very satisfied (4) | Extremely satisfied (5) | Average rating |
| Providing a rigorous academic curriculum | <1% | 1% | 4% | 24% | 71% | 4.6 |
| Providing individualized attention | <1% | 1% | 5% | 22% | 71% | 4.6 |
| Encouraging students to develop their own interests | 2% | 3% | 15% | 35% | 45% | 4.2 |
One of the goals of the NCGS member schools is to provide students with opportunities for individual growth, along with a supportive environment to nurture girls' development. Respondents indicated that schools were doing a very good job of this:
- 85% of respondents were very or extremely satisfied with their schools' encouragement for students' to pursue new challenges
- 82% of responding alumnae were very or extremely satisfied with their schools' fostering of self-confidence
- 75% were very or extremely satisfied with their schools' encouraging an appreciation of individual difference
Respondents also rated their satisfaction with their girls' school in the areas of fostering community, encouraging community service, and developing girls' leadership. As shown in Table 2, alumnae were very or extremely satisfied with their schools' support and encouragement in all three areas.
- 87% of alumnae were very or extremely satisfied with how well their school fostered students' sense of belonging to a community
- 84% were very or extremely satisfied with their schools' provision of leadership opportunities
- 71% of alumnae were very or extremely satisfied with the amount of encouragement schools showed for students' involvement with community service
Table 2 Satisfaction with community, leadership and community service
| How satisfied were you with your schools': | Not at all satisfied (1) | A little satisfied (2) | Moderately satisfied (3) | Very satisfied (4) | Extremely satisfied (5) | Average rating |
| Fostering your sense of belonging to a community | 1% | 2% | 10% | 30% | 57% | 4.4 |
| Providing you with leadership opportunities | 1% | 3% | 12% | 29% | 55% | 4.4 |
| Encouraging you to become involved with community service | 2% | 8% | 19% | 34% | 37% | 4.0 |
| N = 1,018 |
Alumnae were presented with several statements citing the possible benefits of a girls' only education, and they were asked to consider how well their girls' schools prepared them for college in comparison to their observation of female college peers who attended coed high schools.
- 85% agreed that girls' school provide a greater "can do" attitude
- 84% agreed that girls' schools provide more leadership opportunities
- 83% agreed that girls' schools provide a better environment for personal development
- 74% agreed that girls' schools provide more encouragement in math, science and technology
The Transition to College
Alumnae were asked how they felt their schools prepared them for the academic and social transition to college, compared to their peers from coed schools. Respondents rated how satisfied they were with their preparation on a 1-5 scale, with 1 equal to not at all satisfied, 2 equal to a little satisfied, 3 equal to moderately satisfied, 4 equal to very satisfied, and 5 equal to extremely satisfied.
As indicated in Table 3, 93% of alumnae were very or extremely satisfied with the preparation they received for the academic aspects of college, 76% were very or extremely satisfied with the preparation they received for the extracurricular aspects of college, and 55% were very or extremely satisfied with the preparation they received for the informal social aspects of college.
Table 3 Satisfaction with preparation for transitions
| How satisfied were you with preparation for: | Not at all satisfied (1) | A little satisfied (2) | Moderately satisfied (3) | Very satisfied (4) | Extremely satisfied (5) | Average rating |
| Academic aspects of college | <1% | 1% | 6% | 25% | 68% | 4.6 |
| Extracurricular aspects of college | 1% | 3% | 20% | 35% | 41% | 4.1 |
| Informal social aspects of college | 4% | 11% | 30% | 33% | 22% | 3.6 |
| N = 1,013 |
When asked to compare themselves to their co-ed school peers in terms of specific academic skills:
Reprinted with the permission of the Education Resources Information Center.
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