Academic Excellence

Evaluating Test Scores/ 2011/ Holy Trinity Catholic School

 Standardized tests were never intended to be used as a comparison test between schools.  In fact, it is an invalid statistical method to make such a comparison.  Many additional factors that are involved (and vary from school-to-school) render a mathematical/ precise comparison to be flawed.  It is important to note that standardized tests have 2 main functions. Standardized tests are DIAGNOSTIC reports that measure:

• § Individual student progress (Parents may measure their child in light of national norms)
• § School curriculum/ state standards (Schools may evaluate their instructional goals and objectives by measuring trends that are followed on a year-by-year basis).

 The Belleville Diocese administers the ITBS in the fall so that teachers have the remainder of the calendar year to address learning standards. Diocesan Catholic schools have a mission to educate (to the best of our ability) all students who wish to receive a Catholic education. Therefore, a wide range of academic skills are present in our diverse student population. Nevertheless, Holy Trinity School has students who are highly evaluated in relation to the entire country.

As a comprehensive Catholic school, Holy Trinity seeks to provide curriculum offerings that result in academic excellence for our students. At the same time, we have a diverse learning community that possesses students of many ability and intellectual levels. Therefore, we strive for overall group scores to be in the top 33% of the nation. [66^th percentile or higher].