Assessment Data

In the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston standardized assessments are used to measure student learning and evaluate academic programs. This leads to a continuous review of curriculum and the improvement of instructional practices. Standardized test scores are only one measure of a school’s quality and strength. Schools obtain a comprehensive view of their progress and growth by using multiple types of data collected throughout the school year. Archdiocesan scores are published rather than individual school scores as it is our desire to promote the individuality of schools and to avoid competition. Parents interested in enrolling a child or children in a Catholic school are encouraged to contact the school to learn about the school’s mission, vision, and educational philosophy. Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston take pride in preparing students for heaven, college, and career.        


The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston implements a standardized assessment program that aligns with the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS) and the requirements of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops Education Department (TCCB ED).

The Assessment of Children Religious Education

Many Catholic schools nationwide have students in 5th & 8th grades take the ACRE - Assessment of Children Religious Education on an annual basis. The assessment is designed to assist in the evaluation of religious education programs in Catholic schools. Schools see the ACRE as a tool that asks students both faith knowledge questions and questions related to religious beliefs, attitudes, practices, and perceptions. The results are used to make improvements not only to our religion curriculum and school culture, but also to our teaching strategies and how we deliver the religion curriculum.  

The ACRE carries the endorsement of the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) and is based upon the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The ACRE asks questions about the teachings of the Catholic Church related to Six Tasks/Domains of Catechesis which include knowledge of the faith, liturgical education, prayer, moral formation, community life, and teaching missions.  

Since the 2015-2016 school year, parish elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston have administered the ACRE in grades 5 and 8. It is important to note that the ACRE was not administered in 2019-2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spring 2021, 5th and 8th grade students in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston completed the ACRE. Scores reported in national percentiles allow a comparison of our students to students in the same grade level nationally who took the same ACRE assessment. The numbers below represent the national percentile of pupil performance in each task/domain over the past six years.   

 5th Grade Tasks/Domains of Catechesis Results 


8th Grade Tasks/Domains of Catechesis Results 


Students in the ARCHGH continue to perform well on the ACRE survey. Over the course of six years, schools moved more students to the ‘Proficient’ and ‘Advanced’ classifications despite drops in percentage points in 2020-2021 attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both fifth and eighth grade students continued to exceed national averages. This positive trend can be attributed to the collaborative and collective efforts by the CSO and individual schools to utilize the ACRE survey as the tool to examine current knowledge levels and provide baseline data to set goals for growth while monitoring and evaluating growth longitudinally over time.  

The IOWA Assessments are nationally norm-referenced tests. In the spring of 2021, the IOWA Assessments (Form G, 2017 Norms) were given to students in grades 1 through 8. IOWA scores indicated that 92% of our students performed on or above grade level in English Language Arts and 88% of students performed on or above grade level in Math in 2021. IOWA measures on grade-level performance as between the 25th and 75th percentiles and above grade-level performance as between the 76th and 99th percentiles. 

Scores for our students are compared to the scores of all students across the nation who took the same test. The national average is the 50th percentile. IOWA scores for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston as seen in the charts below remain above the national average even with updated norms and the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strongest area of growth throughout the grade levels was in English Language Arts. First grade students saw the largest drop in scores and this substantiates the importance of face-to-face instruction for younger students.  

 

The percentage of students in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston that scored above the National Average or 50th Percentile in each grade level is noted in the charts below.  


The IOWA data provides a broad, positive picture of the academic achievement of students attending Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Catholic schools. Results for 2020-2021 were strong in most grade levels with many demonstrating growth despite the challenges of COVID-19.  

How is academic progress measured? In the past the answer would have been the grades that students earn in the classroom and scores they receive on standardized tests. Though we still have grades and standardized tests, in 2019, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston began to look at academic progress in a different way. We intentionally moved the focus from student achievement to student growth. Student growth is a student's progress between two or more points of time to demonstrate their progression toward goals or benchmarks.  

Why did we make a change in our philosophy of assessment and academic progress? Reality tells us that all students cannot attain the same levels of academic achievement. Not every child is a straight A student, not every student can achieve above average performance on classroom or standardized assessments, and not every student can cross the same finish line in an academic year. A focus on end-of-year achievement does not consider where a student begins and has goals that are “one-size fits all”. Further, it does not account for individual strengths and weaknesses. As Catholic schools fulfilling our mission to educate all, we are acting upon our belief that every student can grow in their learning and academic success regardless of their academic abilities and past experiences.  

Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, students in grades 1-8 will take the MAP Growth assessments each fall, winter, and spring in place of IOWA Assessments. MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) is a computer adaptive test that over 11 million students take nationwide, including students in many Catholic elementary schools.  

MAP Growth is a computer adaptive test, which adjusts to each student’s learning level, providing a unique set of test questions based on their responses to previous questions. As the student responds to questions, the test responds to the student, adjusting up or down in difficulty. MAP Growth is used to measure a student’s performance level at different times of the school year and compute academic growth. Teachers can see the progress of individual students and the whole class. They use the results to plan, adjust, and deliver appropriate instruction and content for each student and determine Data can also be used to help students set goals and understand what they need to learn to achieve their goals. For more information on MAP Growth, click on the link below to access a Parent’s Guide to MAP Growth in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.  

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Parent’s Guide to MAP Growth - PDF