ACRE Introduction Webinar Recording Available Below
If you missed the ACRE workshop last December 4th at the Bishop O’Connor Center, and our February 12th webinar with Deacon Tony Abts of the Diocese of Green Bay, you may wish to watch a recording of webinar at the link below.  It will run with a Window's Media Player application.  Deacon Abts covers an introduction to the assessment, sample questions, their value, and provides an excellent introduction to analyzing and making good use of the reports.   

Watch a video of the February 12th webinar by clicking here.

Timeline for Administration of the ACRE Assessment in the Diocese of Madison:

• Tuesday, December 4, 2012: Special workshop conducted by Lori Dahlhoff, Executive Director, Department of Religious Education of the National Catholic Education Association from 9:30 to 3:00 p.m. at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center in Madison.
• Friday, December 21, 2012: All test materials are to be ordered by this date.
• Tuesday, January 29, 2013: All materials should be shipped to parishes.
• February & March, 2013: All assessments administered.
• Friday, April 5, 2013: Assessments mailed directly to Computerized Assessments and Learning (CAL), not to NCEA.
• Wednesday, May 15, 2013: Assessment results returned to the parish electronically or by postal mail according to your order.

For a copy of Patrick Delaney's Timeline explanation letter distributed at the Fall 2012 Regional Gatherings, Click Here.

BENEFITS OF NCEA ACRE:
Helps principals and directors of religious education:

• Track a group's progress in catechesis/religious education.
• Assess catechetical/religious education program effectiveness.
• Identify catechetical/religious education curricular needs.
• Evaluate instructional objectives and strategies.
• Apply data about students' religious practices, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs to curricular emphasis.

The window to administer the first assessment will be the months of February and March, 2013.

As a budget item, for this year, please budget either $2.75 per student if your parish or school is a member of the NCEA, and $3.50 if your parish or school is not a member.  Please consider sharing booklets that schools may have or with other parish program.  If your parish would like to consider membership in the NCEA, you may wish to check out their information on this page.

There is a list of common vocabulary as seen in the assessment in Appendix A (page 51) included in the NCEA ACRE Interpretation Manual which can be downloaded from NCEA's website at no charge. You do not have to feel like you have to "cram" everything into the students.  For most, they will have heard vocabulary already. Learning about our faith is an ongoing process.

Feel free to visit NCEA's website for articles and other useful information about the assessment.

Another assessment tool offered by NCEA is the Information For Growth (IFG) for adults. IFG provides a spiritual/growth profile for all adults: the general population as well as catechists, parents, catechumenate team members, and neophytes.  For general information and periodic updates about NCEA ACRE-IFG, go to www.ncea.org.

As further questions arise, they will be addressed in the FAQ section below.