The Classical Difference
Discovering why classical Christian education has such a noticeable influence
Enjoy reading this 2018-19 comparative study of 24-42 year-old alumni from public, secular private, Catholic, evangelical Christian, religious homeschool, and ACCS (classical Christian) schools, on topics of life-choices, preparation, attitudes, values, opinions, and practices.
Arguably, the greatest distinctive is integration—the intentional way that the subjects and Christian truth are interwoven. Every class and every school activity has one purpose: To see God’s world rightly and to glorify Him. These communities are tight knit, serious but joyful, and eminently curious.
The seven life outcomes of an ACCS alumni measured were:
- Prepared for College and Career
- Life Outlook
- Christian Commitment
- Christian Life
- Conservative and Traditional
- Independent Thinkers
- Influential
In 2018 the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) sponsored a parallel survey with the University of Notre Dame to append ACCS member school alumni to the Cardus data. Most of these alumni attended accredited ACCS schools. Because the ACCS used the existing survey, they did not have input on the questions. This helps to ensure that these questions were not formulated to advantage ACCS in the responses. The survey, both for Cardus and ACCS, reached adult alumni between the ages of about 23 and 42 from these types of schools. The respondents reflected the U.S. population. The six categories shown, left to right on the charts, are: Public school graduates, non-religious private school graduates, which are normally high-academic preparatory schools, Catholic schools, Protestant schools, which were generally schools affiliated with an Evangelical school association, religious homeschools as opposed to those who homeschooled in a secular way, and finally, those who graduated from an ACCS school.