Private Catholic schools in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area possess students that enjoy a remarkable degree of success. For instance, students of St. Agnes School in St. Paul average a 27 ACT score and graduate at a one hundred percent rate, with eighty-four percent of students going on to attend a four-year college. Cretin-Derham Hall, another St. Paul-based Catholic school, graduates one hundred percent of students with an average 28 ACT score.
In contrast, students of the public Johnson Senior High School graduate at am eighty-four percent rate and average a score of 20 on the ACT. Additionally, only forty-four percent of students of Johnson Senior high show proficiency in reading and only thirty percent in Math. Similar numbers are found at Como Park Senior High School: forty-two percent proficiency in reading and thirty-two percent in Math, with an average seventy-five percent graduation rate.
The greater success students enjoy at private Catholic schools has a definite impact on their lives. According to www.act.org/research-policy, students with a higher ACT score are more likely to complete an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in a shorter amount of time. Whether the cause be the faith-based environment, the curriculum, or some other factor, the average graduate of a Catholic high school is placed on the path to greater academic and professional success than the average public high school graduate.
***
Do you like Alpha News? Help us reach more people in 2019 by donating today.
Gabriel Kopp
Gabriel Kopp is a Twin Cities native and a student at Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California, where he is studying Liberal Arts and Sciences. Gabriel served a year on NET Ministries following graduation from Providence Academy in Plymouth, MN in 2017.
