Standardized Religion Tests

As another way to gauge our students knowledge of their Catholic Faith, we use standardized testing as a tool. Standardized tests are administered in both the school and the public school religious education programs. We use two different standardized tests:

• Grades 4, 5 and 8 use the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) Assessment of Catechesis Religious Education (ACRE) tests. NCEA began providing assessment tools for religious education in the late 1970's. It s the largest private professional assoication in the world and is based in Washington D.C. The ACRE assessment measures the religious knowledge, beliefs, preceptions, attitudes and practices of students. The information it provides is one of the resources we use for making overall program improvements.
• Grades 3, 6 and 7 use the Faith 2000 standardized test. This series of tests was developed by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Using multiple choice questions, it assesses the faith knowledge of our students. These test scores allow us to look at the strengths and weaknesses of our program and make adjustments as needed. The test that the 7th grade students take is actually an 8th grade test, since Faith 2000 has no 7th grade test available.

Year after year, the results show that our students, in both the school and the public school program score consistently higher than the national average. Only 2% of the nation's RE programs take the FAITH test so a separate national average for RE programs is not available. Our public school students are compared to the Catholic Schools National Average.

This year's scores are listed below:

Spring 2011

ACRE Test Results
(Developed by the National Catholic Education Association)

FAITH 2000 Test Results
(Developed by the Diocese of Indianapolis)

*Since 8th graders at St. John the Evangelist take the ACRE test, the 8th grade FAITH 2000 test is administered in the 7th grade.

NOTE: Only 2% of the nations Religious Education/Formation Programs take the ACRE Test therefore, a separate National Average for RE Programs is not available. They are compared with the Catholic Schools National Average.

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