If NCEA ACRE is administered every year, do catechists tend to teach to the test? What does it mean to “Teach to the Test”?
Not necessarily. Every year a new group of 5th, 8th, 9th, 11th, and 12th graders enters a religion class in a Catholic school or parish program. When you assess a 5th grade class with NCEA ACRE Level 1 in 2002, you get a base line on how well you are delivering a solid religion program. By assessing that same group with NCEA ACRE II in 2005 when they are in the eighth grade, you are able to track your program’s strengths or weaknesses. It will be important to note changes in class members, catechists, and curriculum, etc. When a local site skips several years, a problem emerges about how to detect whether new strategies that develop year by year are effective? Each year presents a new audience and a new environment that affect learning. If you are going to use NCEA ACRE results as they are designed to be used, it is preferable to create a “base line” with each new group, and then track that group at the appointed intervals with the age appropriate tool. Please, NEVER TEACH THE TEST or
