Graduates of All-Girls Schools are More Prepared for College Than Their Peers From Co-Ed Schools

A new study from the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California Los Angeles has found that all-girls schools are more successful at preparing students for college and adult life than co-educational schools.

The most recent data is an update to a similar 2009 report also published by the Higher Education Research Institute. Combined, the studies cover data from students in Generation Y to Z and compare various traits such as self-confidence, academic achievement, political engagement, and aspirations of girls’ school graduates and their co-educated peers.

The results found several key areas in which all-girls schools are better at preparing their students for success after graduation. The data showed that students from all-girls schools have stronger academic skills, are more academically engaged, demonstrate higher science self-confidence, display higher levels of cultural competency, express stronger community involvement, and exhibit increased political engagement. Additionally, graduates of all-girls schools rated themselves as more successful in science and politics, areas that have been historically dominated by men. Overall the report identified more than 80 statistically significant differences that favor graduates of all-girl schools compared to women graduates of co-ed schools.

The researchers concluded that, “these statistically significant results demonstrate differences in areas of critical importance in the 21st century for women as they enter university and beyond, thus emphasizing the contribution of all-girls schooling for women’s success.”

The full study, “Fostering Academic and Social Engagement: An Investigation into the Effects of All-Girls Education in the Transition to University,” was commissioned by the National Coalition of Girls Schools. It may be accessed here.