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Questions From the Field: Most Frequently Asked Questions
- Looking at the NCEA ACRE Literacy Terms for Level One and Level Two, I noticed a difference in what is on your list and what is covered by our current text. Did you prepare your materials using a specific set of books? I also would like to know if you have a more specific breakdown, such as by grade level, of what the children should be learning.
The NCEA ACRE religious literacy terms are cumulative, so add what you see listed for Level 2 includes Level 1, and Level 3 consists of all three levels of terms. The terms are related to the blueprint, key concepts and actual assessment questions.
We did not use any religious textbook publisher's language as a guide for crafting these terms as each one has slight differences. In the revision, we are rehabilitating some of the classic terminology that the bishops have been asking even the publishers to use. The terminology list is another tool for catechists to use in ensuring that the key concepts are covered using classical language. Questions of terminology come up when you do the curriculum alignment review Appendix "C". Depending on the religion textbook series that you are using, you will have to make the connections and teach students classical synonyms for the contemporary language.
As far as what the children should be learning, go to the NCEA ACRE blueprint and key concepts pages. The core essentials are all there.
- We have not used ACRE to assess our religion programs since 1999. I heard that NCEA has a new instrument. Is that true?
Yes, in September 2001 we launched the revised edition now called NCEA ACRE - Assessment of Catechesis/Religious Education that includes revised question booklets, new answer sheets, and both revised and new reports. The tool still assesses 5th grade at Level 1, 8th or 9th grade at Level 2, and 11th or 12th grade at Level 3. We stopped using the 1992 edition of ACRE with the 1999-2000 academic year and can no longer score the older answer sheets.
- Why did you change the name of the student religious education assessment from ACRE (Assessment of Catholic Religious Education) to NCEA ACRE (Assessment of Catechesis/Religious Education)?
"Catechesis" is the ancient term for "formation in faith". It is the ubiquitous term for "passing on the faith", the activity which Catholic schools and parish faith formation programs share with family and the faith community. Catechesis intentionally educates for religious faith conversion of mind and heart. It includes knowledge of the faith, but is not limited to the mere acquisition of knowledge about Catholic doctrine or the Catholic Church. "Catechesis" is the preferred terminology used in the catechetical documents that guide all faith formation in schools and parishes. By adding NCEA before the acronym ACRE we retain the tool's Catholic identity and identify its source, i.e., National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Assessment of Catechesis/Religious Education, or NCEA ACRE.
In the recent past, religious education has been used synonymously with catechesis and sometimes differently from Catholic education. So, while some educators may not be accustomed to identifying what they do as "catechesis", the decision to use catechesis/religious education in the title of ACRE allows NCEA to retain the well-known acronym as well as to retain the slash (/) between catechesis/religious education in the non-acronym title. This descriptor is used typically for graduate courses in Catholic universities that prepare students to become DREs or teachers in Catholic schools. To use the conjunction "and" between the two words (i.e., religious education and catechesis) connotes that catechesis is a separate activity from religious education, which is just not the case.
The church universal has never abandoned using the term "catechesis". In the recent past, new terms have been introduced as synonyms for catechesis, such as, "faith formation" in parishes and "theology" in Catholic high schools. Sometimes, the multiple terms confuse more than clarify. "NCEA ACRE" is a means of honoring the Church's ancient language, and serves as a means of educating Catholic educators about the foundational terminology for what we all do in every venue and for every age group when we "pass on the faith".
- I heard that NCEA will provide "standards-based" reports for NCEA ACRE in 2002-2003. If that is true, what are they?
Yes, NCEA will provide standards-based reports in 2002-2003 for the NCEA ACRE faith knowledge section only. Performance standards provide indices of quality that specify the level of skill or competency (advanced, proficient, in need of improvement) a diocese, local site, or individual must demonstrate. In June 2002 experts from the field of religious education met as a group to examine the data from the 2001-2002 administrations of NCEA ACRE. Based on this data, experience in teaching religion, and prudent judgments, these practitioners advised NCEA on appropriate definitions of and cut scores for the new NCEA ACRE performance standards. (See Dr. John Poggio's article in August/September 2002 issue of Momentum and the Assessment Vocabulary posted to these web pages.) Using these enhanced NCEA ACRE reports, administrators, teachers, catechists, parents, and even students themselves will be able to use these performance standards to qualify the faith knowledge demonstrated and to determine the effectiveness of a religion program in fostering growth in faith knowledge.
- What is the purpose of NCEA ACRE? Are we assessing the students, the teachers, or the religion curriculum?
The purpose of NCEA ACRE is to evaluate the effectiveness of a religion program. The total program includes the printed curriculum communicated during a teaching-learning session plus formative experiences in and with the faith community, for example, Sunday Liturgy. To evaluate the effectiveness of student learning based on your religion program you need to assess the students who are the beneficiaries of the teaching sessions for which you are responsible. Then, with NCEA ACRE reports in hand, school principals, DREs, religion teachers, and catechists are able to evaluate not only the local curriculum content, but also the teaching strategies used to deliver that curriculum. NCEA ACRE data reports also shed light on those faith formation elements that are not the exclusive domain of the school or parish religion program, for example, physically getting students to the sacraments of penance and Sunday Liturgy, etc.)
- Who selected the NCEA ACRE content specifications?
The NCEA ACRE content specifications were selected by a national Blueprint Committee and reviewed by catechetical scholars, practitioners, publishers, and bishops. It represents the core essentials that all students in faith formation should know. They are based on the catechetical tradition, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and recent Church documents that guide catechesis. NCEA ACRE questions and answer choices could change year after year and still be based on the same content specifications that guide your curriculum selection.
- Can I get sample copies of the assessments if I am not sure I want to order them?
Yes, if you are a religious education leader in a diocesan office or the person in charge of a religious education program in a Catholic school or parish program, you may obtain sample materials. Note the enclosed rules by which you agree to abide when you request and receive these sample materials. To request sample assessments contact either NCEA or Computerized Assessments and Learning, LLC in Lawrence, Kansas (CAL), NCEA's outsourcer for filling orders, scoring and providing reports, at 1-866-406-3850 or http://ncea.caltesting.org/.
- How do I order NCEA ACRE?
You can order the NCEA ACRE student assessment materials 12 months of the year from NCEA's outsourcer for order fulfillment, scoring, and reporting: Computerized Assessments and Learning, LLC (CAL) in Lawrence, Kansas. Call toll-free 1-866-406-3850 or order on-line at http://ncea.caltesting.org/. Click here to view and print the brochure and order form.
- How much does NCEA ACRE cost?
The NCEA ACRE religion program assessment is quite reasonably priced when compared to the planning value of the information received. For current pricing, click here!
- Is there a particular time of year when we should administer NCEA ACRE?
No. You can order these student assessment materials 12 months of the year and administer the assessment anytime you wish, either to accommodate a nine month academic calendar year or a twelve month religious education year. NCEA does not recommend using the assessments at any particular month or time of year. That is up to the local site.
- If NCEA ACRE is administered every year, do catechists tend to teach to the test? What does it mean to "Teach to the Test"?
Not necessarily. Every year a new group of 5th, 8th, 9th, 11th, and 12th graders enters a religion class in a Catholic school or parish program. When you assess a 5th grade class with NCEA ACRE Level 1 in 2002, you get a base line on how well you are delivering a solid religion program. By assessing that same group with NCEA ACRE II in 2005 when they are in the eighth grade, you are able to track your program's strengths or weaknesses. It will be important to note changes in class members, catechists, and curriculum, etc.
When a local site skips several years, a problem emerges about how to detect whether new strategies that develop year by year are effective? Each year presents a new audience and a new environment that affect learning. If you are going to use NCEA ACRE results as they are designed to be used, it is preferable to create a "base line" with each new group, and then track that group at the appointed intervals with the age appropriate tool.
Please, NEVER TEACH THE TEST or expose students to the actual NCEA ACRE questions and answer choices as a means of preparing them to perform well. That would be the "mortal sin" of assessment - a BIG NO NO!!
There is a difference between "teaching THE test" and "teaching TO THE test"? (We prefer the word assessment rather than the word test, however.) Teaching to the test means you are aware of the NCEA ACRE content specifications. We encourage that. In fact, we direct you to use "Appendix C" (pp. 43-48 of the Interpretation Guide and mailed to you with your NCEA ACRE materials) with the entire faculty in a process designed to help you determine how well your religion curriculum fits the NCEA ACRE content specifications. These specifications can be found in "Appendix B": NCEA ACRE Domains, Student Objectives, and Elaborated Key Concepts (pp. 39-42 of the Interpretation Guide and in the November-December Momentum, 2001). If your curriculum covers what the specifications cover, then you will be teaching "to the test", or what is being assessed, and that is OK as long as you do not teach the actual questions.
- If NCEA ACRE is not administered every year, what cycle would you recommend? Every other year? Every third year?
As detailed above, I do not recommend a year without NCEA ACRE. If you chose to skip years, you will have to come up with your own rationale and justification.
A program can change direction within a year's time. If no one is "monitoring" a program carefully, it can go "off course" within a year. By the time the person in charge realizes what is really happening through anecdotal or other evidence, there may be a lot of catch up work to do. NCEA ACRE evaluates the teaching and learning of content by assessing faith knowledge and faith formation experiences. Report data also gives teachers and catechists insight into the effectiveness of the methods used to deliver that content, the environment in which the content message is delivered. A change in the catechist pool, background of the students, demographics, and teaching methods can all have an impact on the effectiveness of a religion program.
- Do you recommend that all parishes and schools in a diocese start NCEA ACRE in the same year? Should one-half or one-third begin in the initial year?
Ideally, all sites should start within the same year, at about the same time. This is the only way to get a comprehensive diocesan picture. However, I am aware that budget limitations can get in the way of the ideal. Don't allow the ideal to be the enemy of the good, however. If you need to limit the student audience for assessment, even though that is NOT what you really want to do, then at least select those to be assessed in a true random fashion so you don't intentionally skew the results. It would be very inappropriate to select only those sites or students that are likely to produce "high scores". That defeats the purpose of using NCEA ACRE.
- How much time should it take to "take" NCEA ACRE? How much time am I allowed to give "slower" students?
About an hour. But, remember, NCEA ACRE is not a "timed test" and you have some options in administering it. You can break up the assessment into two forty-five minute sessions as described in the NCEA ACRE Administrative Guide. Time needed will vary according to audience and circumstance. Some students are more "test wise" than others and can affix answers in the bubble sheet faster. Some are more nervous at the prospect of a formal assessment and may re-read the statements more than is necessary, or use up time erasing answer choices that they inadvertently placed in the wrong bubble. It really is up to the person in the room who administers NCEA ACRE to give clear directions, enough time to do the practice question, and reassurance designed to allay student fears.
Students who are gifted or well grounded in the content do not usually labor needlessly over the question-statements or answer choices. When they recognize the correct response, they select it, put the answer in the correct location, and thus, take less time.
Students who are challenged in any way, may need more time. That is not a problem. Make sure they have a quiet place to work and provide a monitor. The monitor may not help a student with the answers, but can pronounce difficult words, or read NCEA ACRE to a student for whom English is a second language, who is blind, or who has a physical disability that prevents the student from filling in the answer bubble sheet personally. It is up to the monitor to maintain the integrity of the assessment time.
- Can my school (or diocese) add questions to the NCEA ACRE?
Absolutely! We have even provided instructions and an answer key in "Appendix D" to help you add up to twenty locally created questions for the knowledge section. When your students respond to the local questions on the same NCEA ACRE bubble answer sheet, you receive a computer-generated report to help you analyze that data alongside the other standard NCEA ACRE reports.
- Why are some teachers and catechists, principals and DREs reluctant to participate in NCEA ACRE?
Having students answer questions about faith that are prepared by someone else terrifies some teachers. It shouldn't. In answering questions, we learn, encounter new ideas, and discover the art of reflection. Asking and answering questions is part of the teaching-learning process. Questions help shape the direction our thoughts take. Coming up with an answer forces us to think.
Depending on the grade or NCEA ACRE level, NCEA ACRE contains about 50 to 60 questions and open-ended statements about core faith concepts and Catholic faith values and practices. With NCEA ACRE, students show teachers what they know. With NCEA ACRE reports, teachers, in turn, are in a better position to know which concepts upon which to build and which ones need to be re-taught or re-thought.
If you have additional questions about NCEA ACRE, send them to cgergits@ncea.org.
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