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Curriculum

Catholic students in the Diocese of Erie received a well-rounded education in all subject areas. The elementary school curriculum includes instruction in the following:

  • Religion
  • Human Sexuality
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Mathematics
  • Health
  • Physical Education
  • Technology
  • Language Arts
  • Character Development
  • Music
  • Art
  • Foreign Language (in some schools)
Curriculum documents can be found here.

Standardized Student Testing

The results are quite clear: students in Catholic schools in the Diocese of Erie score above their counterparts nationwide in all subject areas and all grades. Further, the longer students remain in Catholic schools, the better the achievement exhibited by those students.

Elementary and middle school students currently participate in two forms of diocesan testing: standardized testing and performance-based writing.

Students in grades 2-8 complete the Stanford 10 Achievement Tests that include testing for basic skills as well as skills requiring higher order thinking. Specific test areas include: word study skills, reading vocabulary, reading comprehension, math problem solving, math procedures, spelling, language, science, social science, and listening.  Pupils receive a score in each area as well as a composite score. Results of standardized testing are used to improve instructional practices, curriculum and programs for the students.

Learn more about the Stanford 10 Achievement Tests developed by Harcourt Educational Measurement.

With Writing Assessment, students respond to on-demand writing prompts throughout the school year. The goals of the writing sample assessment are to:

  • Improve the quality of student writing
  • Encourage more and different types of writing in diocesan classrooms
  • Provide information to help teachers strengthen their writing programs
  • Stimulate writing across the curriculum

Learn more about the Pennsylvania State Standards, including the Writing Standards, on the Pennsylvania Department of Education web site.