STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN ACCELERATED CHRISTIAN EDUCATION SCHOOLS IN PENNSYLVANIA

• Main Author: MCDEARMID, ANDREW MAYFIELD
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-1980
• Subjects: Curricula; Curriculum development; Teaching
• ISBN: 1083593846; 9781083593849

Federal and state court decisions strictly limiting religious instruction in public schools have led to an increase in private schools. The Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) Program began in 1970 and had 2,515 schools enrolled in the program as of September 1, 1978. There were 121 ACE Schools located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 1, 1978. A computer search of the ERIC Materials of the U.S. Educational Resources Information Center conducted on October 11, 1978, and again on May 16, 1979, failed to produce a single book or report concerning Accelerated Christian Education. This study has attempted to be a limited first evaluation of selected aspects of the ACE program. The investigator sent a questionnaire to the 121 ACE Schools located in Pennsylvania, administered Reading Tests to 13- and 14-year-old students in 10 ACE Schools, observed ACE Schools in operation and read all promotional materials and instructional manuals produced by Accelerated Christian Education, Incorporated. Because a computer search of ERIC Materials located no literature concerning the ACE Program and because ACE Schools used a Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) which was based on the Keller Plan, research was done in the literature of PSI and the Keller Plan. The assumption was that if the Keller Plan and other PSI Programs have been proven to be equal or superior to traditional methods, then the ACE System of PSI should also be valid. A review of the literature was also made concerning the Cloze Test for readability as well as the SMOG Readability Formula and the FRY Graph. These instruments were used to determine whether materials used in the ACE Program were matched to the reading abilities of students. The following research questions were proposed and answers were sought through a questionnaire sent to 121 ACE Schools and by Cloze Testing in 10 ACE Schools: (1) Measured by the standard of SAT scores, are the students who have graduated from the Accelerated Christian Education Program prepared for college entry? (2) Can it be demonstrated that graduates of the Accelerated Christian Education Program have been accepted into college? (3) Are the programmed textbooks selected for this investigation matched to the students' reading ability? The hypotheses were: (1) that ACE Schools did prepare graduates for college entrance when SAT scores and college attendance were compared with those of all high school graduates in Pennsylvania, and (2) ACE programmed materials would be found to be matched to the reading abilities of students. The data obtained through the study indicated that: (1) Personalized Systems Instruction is equal or superior to the traditional lecture method of instruction when measured by student achievement. (2) The Accelerated Christian Education Program does prepare students for college entry when measured by the criteria of SAT scores and attendance at college as compared with the total population of Pennsylvania high school graduates. (3) The selected programmed textbooks (Paces) of the ACE Program were matched in readability to the reading abilities of 13- and 14-year-old ACE students at the instructional level. Recommendations arising from the study included the following: (1) Local church schools which adopt the ACE Program would do well to initially limit enrollment to the kindergarten and the first three levels. Older transfer students often found difficulty in adapting to a PSI Method. (2) There should be periodic evaluations of the ACE Program to determine such questions as: How many schools will withdraw from the program or cease to operate within a five-year period? What changes will time produce in the ACE Program and will the ACE Program continue to expand?