Catholic
school students score above the national average
By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T Staff Writer
The 2006-’07 school year doesn’t officially begin until Sept.
6, but Catholic school students across the Archdiocese have already received
high marks in national standardized testing.
What a way to begin the school year.
Officials in the Office of Catholic Education (OCE) are pleased to announce
that standardized test results in Catholic schools show continuing progress.
Last year marked the seventh year of the TerraNova assessment in the Archdiocese. In
the fall of 2002, the Archdiocese began using the latest form of the testing
program, TerraNova, The Second Edition.
According to the OCE, the TerraNova program is the most widely used testing
program in Catholic schools in the United States.
TerraNova assesses achievement against national curriculum standards.
Data is reported by use of the national percentile. The national percentile
is a measurement of a student’s — or a group of students’
— performance which can be compared to the results achieved by other
students who have taken the same test.
The median national percentile shows how the middle student of the group
compares to the middle student in the nationwide norming group that took
TerraNova. The median score for a student in the nation is the 50th
percentile. In making comparisons of Catholic school students, each
score is compared to the national median score of 50.
“The continuous progress in standardized test scores reflects a
solid academic program, successful instruction in the classroom and a
partnership between school and home,” said Louis P. De Angelo, director
of curriculum and instruction for the Archdiocese’s Office
of Catholic Education.
Grades 1, 2, 3
Grade 1
In Philadelphia County, Catholic schools serving Title I students (economically
disadvantaged students) administer TerraNova in Grade 1. The results
from these over the last three years demonstrate growth in the Grade 1
cohorts.
Year • Reading • Vocabulary • Reading Composite
• Language
2004 • 47.0 • 36.0 • 38.0 •50.0
2005 • 51.0 • 49.0• 52.0•57.0
2006 •57.0•56.0• 53.0•60.0
These results reflect the results of specialized programs in Title I Reading
First (11 schools) and Jumpstart Reading (seven schools) that are supported
through federal and state funds. The concentrated effort in the area
of Reading in these Title I schools has resulted in great gains in reading,
vocabulary and language.
Grades 4, 6, and 8
All of the median national percentiles in fall 2005 for students in the
Archdiocese, as well as in all five counties, were higher than the 50th
national percentile.
Grade 4
• Students in Chester and Montgomery counties also scored at, or
above, the 80th national percentile in a significant number of content
areas and composite scores. These scores would place these students
in the highest one-fifth of all students nationally.
• Fourth-graders showed gains in their test scores for fall 2005
for all subtests, the composite scores, and for the total score when compared
to all four prior test administrations.
• When the fall 2005 test scores in the counties are compared to
the results for the four prior test administrations, fourth-grade students
showed gains in almost all content areas.
• In the comparison of results for the four-year period from fall
2001 to fall 2005, Philadelphia County fourth-graders had the most improved
test scores in the five counties.
The Objectives Performance Index (OPI) is an estimate of the number of
items that a student could be expected to answer correctly if there had
been 100 items testing that objective.
• Grade 4 students in the Philadelphia Archdiocese scored above
the national results in all of the subskills tested in the reading, language
and math subtests.
• Grade 6 students in the Philadelphia Archdiocese scored above
the national results in all subject areas and subskills.
• Grade 8 students in the Philadelphia Archdiocese scored above
the national results in all subject areas and subskills.
Grades 9, 10, and 11
The median national percentiles for students in the Archdiocese, as well
as all five counties, were higher than the 50th percentile. Fall 2005
test results show that Chester County students also achieved scores above
the 80th national percentile.
Grade 10
• Grade 10 students in the Archdiocese showed mostly higher results
when their fall 2005 test scores are compared to the previous four test
administrations.
The OPI is an estimate of the number of items that a student could be
expected to answer correctly if there had been 100 items testing that
objective.
• Grade 9 students in the Philadelphia Archdiocese scored above
the national results in all of the subskills tested in the reading, language
and math subtests.
• Grade 10 students in the Philadelphia Archdiocese scored above
the national results in all subject areas and subskills.
• Grade 11 students in the Philadelphia Archdiocese scored above
the national results in all subject areas and subskills.
“Standardized tests, although important as an outside measure of
academic growth, are not the only measures of learning in Catholic schools,”
said Thomas F. O’Brien, the Archdiocese’s superintendent of
schools. “We maintain a balance among standardized score results,
classroom assessments and archdiocesan assessments.”
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215) 587-2468
or cchicoin@adphila.org.