Benefits of All-Girls


St. Mary Academy - Bay View has been educating and empowering young women since 1874. We are dedicated to the unique learning styles of girls and are proud to promote a culture of achievement and sisterhood. At Bay View, a girl occupies every roll. They are encouraged to speak their minds, without interruption, and use their voices first in the classroom, and then beyond, ready to serve a vulnerable world.

 

As members of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, we think there is no better place to find research about the benefits of all-girls education. We invite you to visit their website or stop by the Admissions Office at Bay View to pick up some of NCGS’s materials.

 


Considering a Girls' School?

We encourage families to ask questions of themselves and their daughter’s current school such as:

  • Are girls at my daughter’s school really on the front lines of leadership? Are they class president? Are they editors of the student newspaper?
  • Are girls at my daughter’s school actively called upon and encouraged to participate in class?
  • Are there fewer girls than boys in the upper level science and math classes?
  • Does my daughter’s school value girls’ athletic teams as much as the boys’ teams? Are budgets, staff and facilities equal?

These are just a few sample questions that are good for families to reflect on and think about as they are seeking the best school for their child.

Statistics
 


Want to learn more?
Studies provided by NCGS
 

New Study: Fostering Academic and Social Engagement: An Investigation into the Effects of All-Girls Education in the Transition to University
Author(s): Tiffani Riggers-Piehl, Kyungmin Lim, Karen King
Institution: Higher Education Research Institute
Year of Study: 2018

Fostering Academic and Social Engagement: An Investigation into the Effects of All-Girls Education in the Transition to University focuses a lens on how graduates of all-girls schools today compares to female graduates of coed schools in terms of their academic characteristics and readiness for university. Drawing data from the well-known Freshman Survey conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles, the researchers used multilevel analyses to separate the effect of an all-girls education from other influences including socioeconomic differences, race/ethnicity, parent education, and the characteristics of the high schools attended. The data reveals a consistent portrait of girls’ school graduates who are more engaged academically and socially than their co-educated peers.

In summary, the researchers concluded that when compared to their female peers at coed schools, girls’ school graduates:

  • Have stronger academic skills
  • Are more academically engaged
  • Demonstrate higher science self-confidence
  • Display higher levels of cultural competency
  • Express stronger community involvement
  • Exhibit increased political engagement

 


Steeped in Learning: The Student Experience at All-Girls Schools
Author(s): Dr. Richard Holmgren
Institution: National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, Center for Evaluation & Education Policy at Indiana University
Year of Study: 2015

Girls attending all-girls schools are more likely to have an experience that supports their learning than are girls attending coed schools (independent and public). In particular, students at all-girls schools report:


Simply put, girls' schools teach girls that there is enormous potential and power in being a girl. 

—National Coalition of Girls' Schools