How Girls Learn Best

Foxcroft isn't just a school of girls. It is a school FOR girls. What does that mean?

Foxcroft’s intentional curriculum, culture, and initiatives meet the specific needs of goal-oriented girls — their success and their overall well-being. Since it’s founding in 1914, Foxcroft has been a school for girls, not just a school with girls.

Foxcroft has set a distinctive standard in girls' education. No other school is quite like it. It has given girls not only intellectual training but aims and ideals — the kind that only an independent school with a simple and sound program can achieve.

Charlotte Haxall Noland, Foxcroft Founder

Today, Foxcroft’s teachers live out that ethos with research-based teaching methods grounded in how girls learn best.

Foxcroft’s college preparatory academic program is intentionally designed for how girls learn best, which research shows, is through:

Collaboration
Context
Relationships
Strong Affiliations
Solving Real-World Problems

Explore Our Academic Departments

Here at Foxcroft, grades are important — don’t get me wrong — but more than that, the teachers here allow us to personalize our learning and support us to think outside the box, which allows a great deal of flexibility in the learning process.
Maeve M., Class of 2022

The Girls’ School Advantage

Educational research strongly suggests that girls develop the self-esteem, confidence, and sense of purpose essential to success through relationships and affiliations and through opportunities for collaborative, connected learning — all of which are best achieved in a girls' school.

80% More Challenged to their Full Academic Potential

more challenged to their full academic potential

Nearly 80% of girls’ school students report most of their classes challenge them to achieve their full academic potential compared to only 44% of girls at coeducational public schools.

—Dr. Richard A. Holmgren, Allegheny College, Steeped in Learning: The Student Experience at All-Girls Schools

75% of Students have Developed Sense of Purpose

of students at girls' schools have developed a sense of purpose and meaning

Seventy-five percent of students at girls' schools say they have developed a sense of purpose and meaning, and that they have a clear sense of what gives meaning to their life, compared to 69% of coed students.

—International Coalition of Girls' School, The Positive Effects of the Girls' School Environment: An Analysis of PISA Data

80% of Students are Highly Successful in Academics

of students at girls' schools are highly successful in their academics

More than 80% of girls’ school grads consider their academic performance highly successful.

—Dr. Linda Sax, UCLA, Women Graduates of Single-Sex and Coeducational High Schools: Differences in their Characteristics and the Transition to College

10% Higher Test Scores

higher test scores

One hour a week of single-sex education benefits females: females are 7% more likely to pass their first-year courses and score 10% higher in their required second year classes than their peers attending coeducational classes.

—Booth, Cardona-Sosa, and Nolen, Do Single-Sex Classes Affect Exam Scores? An Experiment in a Coeducational University

Builds Self-Confidence

more confident than coed peers

Girls’ school students show more confidence compared to girls in coeducational schools, which might explain why girls in girls’ schools typically do better academically and are more likely to choose to study STEM subjects than girls in coed schools.

—AQR International

87% of Students feel their Opinions are Respected

of girls' school students feel their opinions are respected

Girls’ school students are more likely than their female peers at coeducational schools to experience an environment that welcomes an open and safe exchange of ideas. Nearly 87% of girls’ school students feel their opinions are respected at their school compared to only 58% of girls at coeducational schools.

—Dr. Richard A. Holmgren, Allegheny College, Steeped in Learning: The Student Experience at All-Girls Schools

50% of Students Assess Public Speaking Ability as High

of girls' schools graduates assess their public speaking ability as high

Nearly half of all women graduating from single-sex schools rate their public speaking ability as high compared to only 39% of women graduates from coeducational schools. A similar differential exists for writing abilities: 64% of girls’ school graduates assess their writing as high (compared to 59%).