Three years ago, we decided to use the Educational Records Bureau Children's Test of Progress (CTP), a nationally-normed, rigorous assessment of student achievement, to gather this information. Now that we have taken the test for three years, we can begin to see trends. Does the data validate our efforts and changes we've made over the years? What about the very dramatic shift to a classical model that we began 7 years ago?
Let's look at our current sixth grade, the first fully classical grade, where the students have been in a classical school since kindergarten.
- In each of the CTP reading and writing subtests, student scores are expected to grow from 5-8 points each year. So in two years, we should expect to see 10-16 points of growth. Yet our students have shown 31.1 points growth in Verbal Reasoning, 25.9 points growth in Reading Comprehension, 26.9 points growth in Writing Mechanics and 20.4 points growth in Writing Concepts.
- In the math subtests, expected growth over two years is 20-26 points. Our students showed 24.6 points of growth in Qualitative Reasoning and 32.2 points of growth in Math 1 & 2.
While this growth is only one measure of achievement, these results show that classical education is working for our students; they are improving at a faster rate than others on a nationwide measure of achievement. This also provides feedback on our curricular choices. The move we made two years ago to the next grade level of Saxon Math has resulted in positive growth. Our recent strengthening of our reading curriculum, along with the reemphasis on Spalding phonograms throughout the elementary school, has also had a positive effect, even more so than in math.
We are greatly encouraged, but not complacent. We have been working diligently this year on our History curriculum, improving the overall flow from year to year and tying the concepts to overarching themes. Next year, we will begin a new Science curriculum that uses hands-on lessons to deliver content and teach students how to "think like scientists." In fact, we can't wait for next year to get started-some of our teachers are already introducing the new curriculum, eager to share the joy of learning with their students.
In Christ,
Jennifer Cable
Elementary School Principal
"Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Phil. 3:13-14