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NCEA Religious Education Assessments
NCEA ACRE and IFG
All mail and packages should be sent to:
Computerized Assessments and Learning, LLC
1202 East 23rd Street, Suite B
Lawrence, KS 66046
Since the 1970's NCEA has offered assessment instruments designed to strengthen catechetical/religious education programs. We have two programs:
NCEA Assessment of Catechesis/Religious Education (NCEA ACRE) for students
and Information for Growth (IFG) for adults.
Questions From the Field: Most Frequently Asked Questions:
Check here to read new questions and answers about NCEA ACRE and IFG.
Tips to Expedite Orders & Processing
Avoiding some of the common pitfalls that can delay orders and processing.
Select Assessment Vocabulary:
Want to know exactly what we mean by ‘Accountability’ or ‘Performance Standards’? Study our cheat sheet of Assessment Vocabulary and you, too, can use assessment lingo with ease.
NCEA ACRE and IFG Articles:
Read articles about NCEA ACRE and IFG. Topics range from the revision of NCEA ACRE to current users' experiences with the assessment tools.
Assessment Information for Diocesan Administrators
(includes the following information)
- Letter to Diocesan Leader
- Diocesan Particpation Scenarios
- Diocesan Assessment Report Request
NCEA Recommendations to Dioceses Regarding Implementation of the NCEA ACRE Assessment
Click here to find your Diocesan code
NCEA began offering religious education assessments for students in the 1970’s. Used by Catholic schools and parish religious education programs, NCEA ACRE is an integrated approach to assessment offering both faith knowledge (cognitive domain) as well as beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and practices (affective domain) sections. As a multilevel tool, NCEA ACRE is appropriate for students in grade 5 (Level 1), grades 8-9 (Level 2), and grades 11-12 (Level 3). NCEA ACRE (Assessment of Catechesis / Religious Education) became available for use in August 2001. A revised edition is expected in 2013.
- To place an order, contact Computerized Assessments and Learning, LLC in Lawrence, Kansas online http://ncea.caltesting.org/, telephone 1-866-406-3850, or mail in our downloadable brochure with payment.
- To download our full-color brochure form describing the NCEA ACRE program and containing ordering instructions, click here (Acrobat File)
- To read how others have used and what they have said about student assessment data, click here.
ACRE/IFG is also available in Spanish! For a full color brochure form in Spanish, click here.
NCEA ACRE Workshop now available in DVD
NCEA ACRE Workshop is available in both VHS and DVD formats. This three-part video is your guide to preparation for using NCEA ACRE, administering the instrument, and interpreting the data to improve a religion program. Price is $20.00 for NCEA members / $30.00 for non-members. To order, contact Computerized Assessments and Learning, LLC (CAL) at 1-866-406-3850 or http://ncea.caltesting.org/.
To request assistance with NCEA ACRE administration and interpretation, contact Kathy Schmitt at kschmitt@ncea.org or call 800 711-6232.
BENEFITS OF NCEA ACRE:
Helps principals and directors of religious education:
- Track a group’s progress in catechesis/religious education.
- Assess catechetical/religious education program effectiveness.
- Identify catechetical/religious education curricular needs.
- Evaluate instructional objectives and strategies.
- Apply data about students’ religious practices, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs to curricular emphasis.
NCEA ACRE Sample Letters. Used with permission.
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Publications about ACRE
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What Do Our Children Know About
Their Faith? by John J. Covey, Ph.D. A well
respected researcher Dr. Convey makes the
national ACRE data accessible. Read about
predictors for faith formation, Mass attendance,
and relationships with Jesus. Discover how
colleagues in dioceses, schools and parishes
produce exemplary results. Use the book with
Catholic school faculty and volunteer catechi
st
in-services. 170pp.
$20 member / $30 non member.
ACR-24-1436
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Assessment of Catholic Religious Education - Weaving Christ's Seamless Garment by John J. Convey, PhD and Andrew D. Thompson, PhD.
NCEA's analysis of the students' responses to the ACRE (Assessment of Catholic Religious Education) surveys during the 1994-95 academic year. 1999. 127pp |
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Information for Growth
Survey to Support Adult Faith Formation
2006 Revised Edition
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IFG is designed to support the ongoing spiritual and intellectual formation of adults that is central to Jesus' call to conversion. IFG is a self-assessment tool that helps adults make progress in the knowing and living our Catholic faith.
IFG is available online. Go to http://ifg.caltesting.org/ to register yourself or a group to take IFG online.
Features of the revised IFG:
- Based on the Six Dimensions of Adult Faith Formation Content outlined in the U.S. Bishops' statement, Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the U.S.
- Subjected to field-test and bias review panels
- Linked to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of the CCC
- Configured to show the connection between belief and action
Enhancements to IFG assessment program:
- Includes a program alignment review that shows how existing faith formation programs or offerings for adults actually correspond to the six dimensions of adult faith formation
- Includes the option to add up to 15 locally designed faith knowledge questions
- Available online
- Availiable in Spanish
The IFG audience consists of Catholic adults at all levels of faith development. It can be used by any individual interested in deepening their own faith knowledge. It can also be used by diocesan and parish leaders, with persons such as:
- Catholic school faculty
- Parish catechists
- Youth ministers and volunteers who work with adolescents
- RCIA catechists and neophytes
- Parents of students in Catholic schools and parish religious education programs
- Adults in small Christian communities
- Seminarians
- Women and men in formation for professed religious life
- Adult learners enrolled in diocesan training programs for ministry certificate programs
Benefits of IFG:
- Adults are able to assess their ongoing spiritual and professional growth needs.
- Faith formation leaders receive group data to help them plan ongoing faith formation opportunities for the adults they serve (for example, Adult Faith Formation Directors in parishes).
- Data from IFG can help faith formation leaders correlate faith competency of catechists with student performance on NCEA ACRE.
To place an order, contact Computerized Assessments and Learning, LLC in Lawrence, Kansas online at http://ncea.caltesting.org/, telephone 1-866-406-3850, or mail in our downloadable brochure with payment.
For pricing information, download the full color brochure form describing IFG with ordering instructions, click here (Acrobat File)
For more information contact:
Kathy Schmitt kschmitt@ncea.org
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