Small Catholic Elementary Schools: An Endangered Species?

Small Catholic Elementary Schools: An Endangered Species? This article looks at the supposed demise of small Catholic elementary schools. I know of several here is Texas and they seem to be doing fine...



From the site:



In practical terms, a Catholic school is small when students in two or more grades share the same instructional setting. Within this digest, the small Catholic school will considered to be an elementary school with an enrollment of 100 or less. To be financially viable, a small school must recognize its smallness and seek structures and methods appropriate to its size.



WHERE ARE THE SMALL CATHOLIC SCHOOLS?



A recent Small Schools Survey (Reck, in press) found that 462 Catholic elementary schools in the United States enrolled fewer than 100 students in 8-grade schools, or under 12.5 students per grade in schools with fewer than 8 grades. Over three fourths of these schools are located in only 13 states.



HOW DO SMALL CATHOLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS FARE ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT TESTS?



Many persons still remember the argument for public school consolidation in the 1950s and 1960s: "bigger is better." Recent educational research shows, on the contrary, that size by itself does not indicate the quality of a school (Marshall, 1984) and that small schools can and do achieve as well (Alberta Department of Education, 1984; Sher and Tompkins, 1977; Eberts, 1984; ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, 1982).



The Small Schools Survey of Catholic elementary schools (Reck, in press) indicates that 94% of the composite class averages are on or above grade level. Moreover, the median class average on the composite achievement score increases through the grades--with the eighth grade composite score 1.8 years above the national norm. In other words, the longer a class studies in a small Catholic school, the higher the group tends to score above the expected level.