Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Curriculum within schools is designed to be holistic in content and approach. Schools follow standards approved by the Department of Catholic Schools. These are driven by the diocesan mission of education. Individual schools provide their own detail in meeting these standards consistent to the needs of their students. For this reason curriculum resources are varied from one school to another. With the advent of one-to-one technology in all schools, a blended learning and differentiated instructional model is utilized which has proven to be highly successful as well as engaging to students. Assessment is frequent and ongoing in all schools utilizing a variety of classroom tools and national assessments. The results focus primarily upon the growth of student learning as well as mastery of grade level standards.
Inclusion
Though there is no separate state funding supporting students in Catholic schools, each school will accept any student for whom an appropriate curriculum can be developed and implemented. For this reason, individual schools, in collaboration with parent support and involvement, do provide effective education for a wide variety of needs and disabilities through adaptations of the core curriculum.
Accreditation
All Catholic schools within the Diocese of Orange are accredited by both the Western Catholic Education Association (WCEA) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Results
Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Orange use the Renaissance Star Assessment to measure and assess student growth three times a year. This assessment tool is used to modify instruction in accordance with the needs of the individual student. Thanks, in part, to a rigorous curriculum coupled with differentiated instruction, 80% of Catholic School students in the Diocese of Orange have tested above the national average for math while over 65% of students have tested above the national average in reading.
