Dec 08, 2025

2024-25 National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Assessment of Catholic Religious Education (ACRE) Results 

St. Sebastian Parish School is proud to offer an education that is dedicated to Christ and committed to excellence. The data here represents the 5th and 8th grade average scores compared to the national average scores for 5th and 8th grade students on the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Assessment of Catholic Religious Education (ACRE) Test results. St. Sebastian Parish School 5th and 8th grade students demonstrated strong performance across all five domains: Faith Knowledge, Liturgical Life, Moral Formation, Prayer, Communal Life, and Missionary Spirit, when compared to the National Average. In all categories, St. Sebastian Parish School outperformed the national averages. This part of the assessment helps us see what our students know and understand of Catholicism.

Analysis of Key Findings by Domain:

• Knowledge of the Faith: This suggests that our students have a solid understanding of core Catholic teachings, Scripture, and doctrine, reflecting a strong religious curriculum and effective catechesis.
• Celebration of the Mystery: This indicates that our students are well-formed in the Church’s liturgical practices, sacraments, and worship, which we attribute to strong participation in Mass, prayer services, and sacramental preparation.
• Life in Christ (Our strongest domain): This domain reflects an understanding of Catholic moral teachings and ethical decision-making and suggests a well-integrated moral instruction program that effectively connects faith to real-world moral dilemmas. This domain connects directly to our Catholic mission through emphasizing: living according to the Golden Rule, upholding the dignity of every human person, practicing principles of Catholic Social Teaching, and developing a well-formed conscience to guide moral decision-making.

• Prayer: This result highlights our school’s emphasis on personal and communal prayer life, reinforcing spiritual formation through regular prayer experiences such as Adoration, classroom prayer, and participation in devotional traditions.

• Community Life: This indicates a strong sense of Catholic community and an emphasis on living out faith in relationships with others. We attribute this to service projects, faith-based community-building activities, and the school’s commitment to fostering a close-knit, Christ-centered environment.

ACRE Part 2: Affective Statements Summary

Part 2 of the ACRE assessment evaluates students’ personal beliefs, attitudes, practices, and perceptions about the Catholic faith. While Part 1 assesses what students know, the affective section helps us understand whether we are truly catechizing the heart and hands, not just the head, so that students are beginning to live as committed disciples of Jesus Christ.

This is our goal, to form disciples who not only know their faith, but who live their faith in the world. These results demonstrate that our students not only understand the teachings of the Church but also apply them in daily life through compassion, respect, and service to others.

The affective data also indicates that, as a community, we are successfully forming students who believe in the truths of the faith, pray regularly and meaningfully, and value goodness and moral living. These patterns provide strong evidence of a thriving Catholic identity rooted in authentic formation.

Next Steps in Discipleship Formation

The next movement in our mission is guiding students from belief to belonging in the life of the Church, from kindness to courageous discipleship, and from simply understanding the Mass to hungering for Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. This shift is essential for helping students move from “knowing about Jesus” to “living with and for Jesus,” answering the Bishop’s call to go forth and witness in the world.