Dividing boys, girls grows exponentially

An experiment in single-sex classrooms that started two years ago at Carman Trails school in the Prkway School district is winning over parents, students and teachers. And even though the school doesn't have test data to prove its success, the program is growing. Last year, the school limited the same-sex classrooms to first grade. This year, it started them in second grade. And just last week, after meeting with enthusiastic parents, the teachers and principal, Chris Raeker decided to offer the option in third grade.

The U.S. Department of Education noted in 2005 that the jury was still out on the effectiveness of same-gender classrooms, due to "a dearth of quality studies" on the topic. But a lack of data hasn't slowed the popularity of the approach, which has been triggered by recent research that suggests the brains of boys and girls develop differently at young ages.

What is your opinion of single-sex classrooms? What do you see as the student benefits? Do you see any drawbacks to this approach? Please comment.