PRETEST IS REQUIRED FOR ADMISSION TO ALL CLASSES As an enhancement to our ClassicalFree education program, we are now requiring an assessment program to help us and you objectively determine your comprehension of the Biblical worldview. This pretest is required prior to enrolling in all classes, both free and paid. This is being accomplished through a joint-venture with the Nehemiah Institute and the use of their online PEERS Test. As part of the registration process with ClassicalFree, we are requiring that you complete the pre-test version of the PEERS test. The cost for this is approximately $9.00, which is paid when you order the test. Results of the test will be sent to you directly from Nehemiah Institute and will also be recorded in your school file for reference purposes.NOTE 1: At this time, only the high school version of the PEERS test is available in online format. Booklet form tests are available for grade levels 5-6 (version CA12) and 7-8 (version BA12), but are not being used with this special assessment program of ClassicalFree. NOTE 2 For confidentiality purposes, ClassicalFree will NOT have a record of your test answers. Only the subject category scores and a composite score from your test will be maintained as a permanent record for educational purposes. It is also our policy to not disclose to others your test results. Following is a step-by-step process for completing the test. We strongly recommend that you print a copy of these instructions for reference when ordering/taking the test. Any technical questions about taking the test should be directed to Nehemiah Institute at 1-800-948-3101; ask for a PEERS Testing Coordinator. WHAT IS THE PEERS WORLDVIEW PRETEST? Just because you have your child enrolled in a Christian school, don't assume they are spiritually safe. That is the conclusion of PEERS worldview testing conducted by The Nehemiah Institute over the past 18 years. The PEERS test, developed by Dan Smithwick of the Nehemiah Institute, measures the Bible's influence on a person's perceptions of the world in five areas: Politics, Education, Economics, Religion and Social Issues. These findings were reported in an article in the Chalcedon Report of October 2001 entitled, "One School-Generation to Go, and Then The End." Not exactly what you'd call a cheery prognosis for Christian education. The chart below shows the downward trend in Christian worldview scores not only for Christian students attending public schools, but also for Christian students in typical Christian schools. From 1988 to 2000, average scores of Christian school students dropped by 30.3%. Results of evangelical family students in public schools dropped 36.8% in the same period. Christian students attending public schools now regularly score in the lower half of Secular Humanism and students in typical Christian schools score just below the minimum score to be rated in the Moderate Christian worldview. If present trends continue, Smithwick predicts that by 2008 students in Christian schools will have become operational socialists in their cultural perspective. To state the obvious, this does not bode well for the church. The good news is that Christian students who have received home school or classical Christian, or Principle Approach training are scoring at consistently higher levels. These are schools that have adopted specific worldview materials into their curriculum. Note, however, that even these students are not scoring in the upper "Christian Theism" range, but rather in the top levels of the "Moderate Christian" category. Nonetheless, it is this group that comprise the true "remnant" that God always preserves through periods of general apostasy. Unfortunately, they comprise less than five percent of total students tested. The problem with the typical Christian school is two-fold. Number one is the adoption of essentially humanistic curriculum materials and approach, salted with a few Bible verses and a chapel service. Typically, the Bible is made to fit the "Procrustean bed" of the humanistic world view. Number two is the requirement that teachers at Christian schools be certified by state teacher's colleges. Far too often the Christian teachers themselves have imbibed essential elements of the humanistic world view from their training. What we end up with in most cases is baptized humanism. ClassicalFree students are required to take the PEERS test before embarking on coursework and again upon graduation. The test and scoring services are available at a discount for only $9.00. The idea will be to compare student test scores of a second test scores as they enter ClassicalFree -- typically at the seventh grade level -- with scores of a second test taken during the senior year. The PEERS test and accompanying worldview manual, "Developing a Biblical Worldview" will be made an integral part of our "American Government II" course during the senior year. That is the course that integrates the entire Great Books reading program and includes a practicum in your local community. PURCHASING TEST
COMPLETING THE TEST: The email instructions you will receive from Nehemiah Institute are sufficient for completing the online PEERS test. However, particular critical steps are repeated here:
TEST RESULTS: Results of the online PEERS Test are processed and delivered from Nehemiah Institute via US mail normally within 2-3 days of completion of test. You will receive a Personal PEERS Scorecard and other pertinent information about your test. Information will be included to assist with interpretation of your scores and recommendations for other study materials. At a later time, upon completion of worldview studies at ClassicalFree, you may elect to take the post-test version, AA16. The process is the same. Follow this link to sign up for the PEERS test and order other worldview materials: |