The Amazing Growth Of Christian Schools
by Dr. Paul A. Kienel
There appears to be no faster growing segment of the evangelical Christian community than Christian school education. Clearly, God?s blessing has been and continues to be on the Christian school movement. It will surprise some to know that more than 80 percent of America?s private schools are religious schools. The Statistical Abstract reports the following:
There are 25,616 private elementary and secondary schools in the United States, of which 20,682 (81%) are church-affiliated (nearly evenly divided between Catholic and Protestant). Only 1.7% of Catholic schools have been in operation for 10 years or less, while 45% of Protestant schools have been in operation for 10 years or less.1
In reality, the Protestant school figures quoted above are most likely higher because of recent growth.
It is not an overstatement to say the overall increase in Christian school education is accelerating to the same degree as the overall quality of instruction in our schools. Over the past thirty years, for example, our standardized achievement test scores have never dipped below one full year ahead of the national norm. That is surprising considering that the average annual per pupil cost of educating a public school student is $6,098 (1995-1996),2 which is substantially higher than the average annual tuition in a Christian school.
One of the more interesting measures of the quality of Christian school education is the fact that a high percentage of public school educators send their own children to private and religious schools. Education Week reports the following:
In 71 of the nation?s 100 largest cities, the percentage of public school teachers whose children attend private schools exceeds that of the general public, according to the study by the education analyst and consultant Denis P. Doyle. He based his findings on 1990 U.S. Census data. ?There is clearly a phenomenon at work in which very large numbers of discerning and sensible teachers see that the schools around them are not suitable for their own children,? Mr. Doyle said last week. ?That?s about as tough a measure as you can get.?3
Dr. Ken Smitherman, ACSI?s new president, attributes the solid growth of Christian school education to the fact that so many American families decide, with firm commitment and often great sacrifice, to exercise their option to choose an education that more closely fits with their own family?s educational and spiritual philosophy.
In annual re-enrollment surveys done over many years at one Christian school of more than 1,700 students, two reasons for choosing consistently remained at the top. In the most recent survey 84% of the families identified their first reason for choosing as either spiritual or academic, in that order. The remaining 16% have reasons involving a myriad of factors, from Christian friendships and discipline to music.
It is a blessing that families in the United States have not only the right, but the opportunity to choose from a growing number of evangelical Christian schools, many operated by churches and denominations and significant number independently operated. These schools offer an array of individual distinctives that give families an even broader choice as they seek to make the best education decision for their children.
1 The Statistical Abstract, reported in the Church Law and Tax Report, March/April 1994.
2 American School Board Journal, December 1996, p. A3.
3 Ann Bradley, ?Where Teachers Enroll Their Own Children Tracked,? Education Week,
June 7, 1995, p. 6
