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The Diocese of Columbus Office of Catholic Schools’ Department for Education issues this report annually to provide accountability for its educational program. The following testing programs are detailed: The Terra Nova by grade level, the Assessment of Catechesis Religious Education (ACRE) for grades 5, 8 and 11 and the ACT. The results of these assessments are used by the Diocese and individual schools to identify areas of strength and areas in which improvement is needed. These results are especially critical to each school as it begins the process of developing its continuous improvement plan. However, the most important information the schools gather from these assessments is how to target student learning goals.
The Terra Nova is a standardized test which assesses Reading, Language, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. The tests are used nationally by public, private, and parochial schools. Diocesan students are compared to students across the nation. In the Diocese of Columbus, the tests are given to students in grades 3 through 8 in all schools and grade 2 at Holy Trinity, Notre Dame Elementary, SS Peter and Paul, St. Francis DeSales Elementary, St. John, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Mary, German Village, St. Michael, St. Patrick, St. Pius X, and St. Vincent de Paul.
The ACRE is a standardized test which assesses knowledge of the Catholic faith and the six tasks of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Our Religious Education Course of Study is based on these six tasks and therefore, this test gives us good information about our curriculum and instruction. The scores are based on the percentage of students answering correctly. Diocesan students are compared to Catholic school students around the nation who took the ACRE at grades 5, 8, and 11.
The ACT is a nationally standardized test used for high school achievement and college admissions and is now given to all students in the Diocesan. It is another good indicator of college and career readiness of our students.