How do our test scores compare to the public schools?

The one question I hear the most often is, "How does St. Paul compare academically to the public schools in Michigan, and in particular to the Grosse Pointe Public Schools?" My standard answer has always been, the standardized tests we take are very different tests, and it's kind of like comparing apples and oranges. We take the nationally-normed Iowa Test, and the public schools take the criterion-referenced MEAP test.

I finally decided that there had to be a way to draw a comparison between the two test results, and it turns out that there is. Essentially, I've interpreted the norm-referenced tests results in a criterion-referenced manner, and I think the results are instructive.

For the MEAP test, a student is considered to be at least "proficient" if the student answers 65% of the test questions correctly. For the Iowa test, we established "proficient" as being on grade level, or scoring at least 8.1 (eighth grade, first month) on the fall test in the 8th grade. The results in Math, Science, and Reading are shown below.

(For "advanced," the criterion is that a student scored AT LEAST a year and a half above grade level, or a grade equivalent score of 9.6 - 13+). 

I think it's clear that St. Paul offers, not only a strong faith-based education, but a stellar academic education as well.