It is no big secret that the quality of American education is below average. According to the article, “The United States ranks 17th in global education rankings; Finland and South Korea claim top spots” by Amrutha Gayathri, from the title it is clear that the United States is lagging behind. Without change, the United States will continue to lag in education. One problem currently plaguing the American education system is gender bias. Gender bias in schools has been addressed in legislation, but still persists in American schools, such as in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title 42, Chapter 21 of the U.S. Civil Rights Code. Both laws attempt to discourage gender bias through the illegality of gender discrimination. Title IX addresses bias in federally funded educational and athletic programs at colleges and universities across the United States. Title 42, Chapter 21 of the United States Code prohibits discrimination based on sex, age, race, religion, and other characteristics in numerous contexts, including education. Despite these laws, gender bias is still prevalent in American schools. One proposed solution to gender bias is gender-segregated classes, which have proven to be a popular alternative to co-ed classes. Leonard Sax, author of “Six Degrees of Separation: What Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences,” is a leading advocate for single-sex schools. Single-sex schools, however, are not free from criticism. Jaclyn Zubrzycki's article, “Single-Gender Schools Scrutinized,” states that single-sex environments “are not intrinsically beneficial to boys or most girls.” When considering Zubrycki and Sax's findings, it would seem that the ideal solution is to rid the American education system of gender... middle of paper... teachers believe that boys are smarter than girls. Scantlebury found that teachers who believe that boys are more skilled than girls at math are more likely to rephrase and break down questions "into a series of simpler questions" in an attempt to help the student get to the answer. No such luxury is afforded to women in mathematics classes. Teachers are more likely to reiterate the question and ask another student to answer; typically the student teacher selected to answer the question was a boy (Scantlebury). It is clear that in classes perceived as male-oriented, teachers are willing to work more thoroughly with males. Interestingly, Scantlebury found the opposite to be true in “subjects perceived as feminine.” Teachers spend more time with female students than with male students in subjects that teachers believe are female-oriented.