For over 30 years, Cornerstone students have consistently performed very well on annual standardized tests as well as on the college entrance SATs. Our rigorous biblical, classical curriculum prepares our students well to read and reason across all of the subjects. We teach. We test. We do not teach to the test. In our test this past year, we were pleased to see that our students again performed above the national average (and in some cases well above the national average) in every subject.
This year our students assessed using the IOWA battery of assessments under the umbrella of ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International). This partnership allows Cornerstone to compare our results not only to other schools nationally, but specifically to other Christian schools. Testing covered the core subjects of English Language Arts and Mathematics, as well as ancillary subjects, such as Social Studies and Science. In addition to providing feedback about individual student growth, test results give the school important data to consider as we look for ways to improve curriculum and instruction. The various reports the IOWA provides allows us to drill down into specific skills and subject matter at both the individual and class level, an invaluable tool for the teacher.
Standardized testing, however, is only one measure of a student’s success. Test scores may show a level of subject matter mastery, but they cannot show subject matter passion. Here at Cornerstone, we strive to reach the whole child with a quality education that prepares our students for serving the Lord Jesus Christ in whatever path they pursue. The most critical outcome of any education, the most critical test of its success, cannot be standardized or scored on a scantron. It is the “testing of our faith, which being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested with fire, [that]may be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. . . receiving at the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls” (1 Pet. 1:7, 9).
