Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Honor Roll?

The Honor Roll is an annual list of America’s Top 50 Catholic high schools, judged on the criteria of academic excellence, Catholic identity, and civic education. The list is published and publicized nationally, and is a resource for parents, schools, and donors. A school’s placement on the Honor Roll distinguishes it as one of the finest schools in the nation. A school’s placement on one of the category leader lists distinguishes it as exhibiting exceptional performance in that area.

What is the Honor Roll’s purpose?

As a constructive competition, the Honor Roll is designed to recognize and encourage excellence in Catholic education (no school receives negative mention). Catholic high schools are encouraged to educate students as effectively as possible in a way that integrates the Catholic Faith and prepares students for active engagement in the world as political, religious, and business leaders.

Having long set the benchmark for moral and academic formation, many Catholic schools now see a loss of traditional Catholic identity, a weakening of academic standards, and the support of views contrary to Church teaching. It is no surprise that in some places schools are closing, attendance is falling, financial struggles are common, and Catholic schools are beginning to resemble public schools. The Honor Roll hopes to contribute to a reversal of these trends.

How does it work? How can a school be considered for the Honor Roll?

Schools can apply for the Honor Roll by completing three surveys during the application period each spring. All Catholic high schools in the U.S.A can apply. A set of surveys is sent to all Catholic secondary schools (approximately 1,300) across the United States. The surveys’ questions are designed to gauge the schools’ levels of quality in the areas of academics, Catholic identity, and civic education. Honor Roll staff compile the survey data and use a complex scoring algorithm to calculate a school’s score. The criteria of academics, Catholic identity, and civic education are ranked equally, so placement on the Honor Roll requires excellence in all three areas.

The Top 50 list, along with the honorable mention lists for each category are released each fall. No school will receive negative mention; the Honor Roll is meant to recognize and encourage excellence in Catholic education.

The Honor Roll maintains a database of all Catholic high schools in the United States. To ensure that schools are included in the annual mailing, contact us at info@chshonor.org or fill out the online update form on the CHS Updates page. Principals and headmasters will receive Honor Roll application materials in the spring.

Who can participate?

All Catholic high schools in the United States are invited to apply for the Honor Roll.

What has been the impact of the Honor Roll?

Since the Honor Roll’s inception in 2004, schools have found that the Honor Roll is a great incentive for improvement. To aid this, all applicant schools receive a detailed, comprehensive assessment offering feedback and detailing its strengths and weaknesses.

By using the power of incentives and competition, the best schools are highlighted to inspire imitation and encouragement among all schools. By examining academic excellence, Catholic identity, and civic education, the Catholic High School Honor Roll calls on all Catholic schools to scrutinize themselves in relation to the Church’s educational calling – and to other schools.

Schools have also found that placing on the Top 50 list is powerful publicity. Since the program began in 2004, over 200 media stories – in major newspapers, magazines and on TV and the radio – have highlighted the fact that these schools have earned this distinction and are remaining faithful to their calling. Even more, schools use the Honor Roll to promote and strengthen themselves, all because the bar has been held high and they’re proud to have risen to the occasion.

Can the public see a school’s performance evaluations?

Due to the nature of the information and our promise to schools that no negative information will be published, the reviews will remain private. However, since this is our first year offering these evaluations to schools, in developing this process we do plan to gauge schools' interest in making their evaluations available to the public. This may become a guide of sorts, where information on all schools is made available in a limited way, and then more complete information is made available for the top 50. Let us know what you think. Send us an e-mail at info@chshonor.org.

Why do some schools appear on the Honor Roll one year and then not the next? Does this mean they are a bad school?

No. Due to the competitive nature of the Honor Roll, there are some schools that may appear on the Top 50 list one year but not the next. Also, with each year we develop and improve our evaluation methods to better evaluate schools in the Church’s educational calling. Also, each year there are many new schools that participate, making competition even stiffer. For example, in 2007, eleven of the top 50 schools are new to the Honor Roll.

However, whenever schools do not reappear on the Top 50 list, we usually hear from them with a note saying something similar to "we're working hard to improve and hope to be back on in the future." As an incentive for improvement, we have seen considerable impact and growth. A school that does not reappear on the Top 50 list hasn’t usually done something wrong or substantially decreased in quality. Remember, the purpose of the Honor Roll is to both recognize and encourage excellence in Catholic education. It is our hope that all Catholic schools will look at the best schools and imitate them.

Why does the Honor Roll evaluate more than just academics?

A common misconception about the Honor Roll is that it is an academic competition for Catholic schools. Academic excellence is important, but it is only one of the three categories we measure. There are many schools with strong academic reputations that, because they are not as strong in other categories, do not place on the overall Top 50 list. We believe that strength in the areas of academics, Catholic identity, and civic education is a better measure of the overall quality of a Catholic school.

The best schools offer more than the strong academic preparation for which Catholic education is known. Rather, the best schools also have vibrant Catholic identities and offer sound civic training that help prepare students to live their faith in the world.

Which school ranked #1?

We actually do not release the overall rankings of any applicant schools in order to keep the competition constructive. We believe that this approach helps to preserve our purpose of giving recognition to excellent schools without degenerating into an unproductive competition.

Who chooses the Top 50 list?

An important point to note is that high schools are not chosen for the Top 50 list. Rather, schools earn a place on the Honor Roll through their excellence in the areas measured.

The Honor Roll is administered under the guidance of a survey expert and a distinguished Advisory Board of Catholic college presidents and noted Catholic scholars. Acton’s staff of serious Catholic scholars with background in education, theology, philosophy, economics, ethics, history, business, and law is more than equipped to evaluate schools based on the Church’s teaching.

Why is my high school missing from the Honor Roll?

We are frequently asked this question by alumni and parents and the answer is almost always the same: the school did not apply for consideration. We know there are many fine schools throughout the country, and realize that the Honor Roll, like any similar instrument, is just one measure of a school's achievement. Each year we invite all Catholic high schools to apply, but to properly measure the three areas we examine, we depend on a school's cooperation and cannot force any school to participate.

We encourage you to tell your high school to apply. To assist us, please fill out our Nomination Form, which will ensure that the school is in our database and that they receive application materials, announcements, and other communications.

Why do you use the method of 3 criteria?

Examining academic excellence, Catholic identity, and civic education provides a balanced approach that assesses a school’s adherence to the Church’s educational calling. These three criteria were chosen because they are the things parents most commonly inquire about when evaluating the quality of a Catholic secondary school. These criteria also represent the most important areas that Catholic schools, as Catholic, need to excel in.

That being said, the Honor Roll, like any similar instrument, is just one measure of a school's achievement. We strive to be as objective and comprehensive as possible with respect to the criteria that we examine, but we still recognize the inherent limitations of any such measurement method. The Honor Roll should only aid, but never substitute, a school’s efforts to evaluate itself and constantly improve in the Church’s educational calling.

What is meant by Catholic identity? Why is it important?

The idea of Catholic identity is discovered by asking the question: “What does it mean to be Catholic?” Further questions of delineation include “what distinguishes Christians from non-believers” and “what differentiates Catholics from other Christians.” This gets at more than a mere edifice of Catholic cultural practices to include the richness of the full truth about God and humanity as revealed by Jesus Christ in His Catholic Church. For high schools, Catholic identity considers things like theological training, sacramental presence, culture, evangelization, and sound faith and moral formation.

This is especially important for Catholic high schools because without a sound religious education program grounded in a strong and accurate grasp of the Catholic Faith as articulated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the reason-for-being of Catholic high schools disappears.

In a recent address given by Archbishop Michael Miller C.S.B., former Secretary for the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, five primary marks of a Catholic school were outlined. He says that Catholic schools are:

  1. Inspired by a Supernatural Vision
  2. Founded on a Christian Anthropology
  3. Animated by Communion and Community
  4. Imbued with a Catholic Worldview in search of:
    1. Wisdom and Truth
    2. Faith, Culture and Life
  5. Sustained by the Witness of Teaching

The full article can be accessed at (http://catholiceducation.org/articles/education/ed0269.html).

The Catholic identity component of the Catholic High School Honor Roll relies heavily on official Catholic teaching on Catholic education, which Archbishop Miller outlined. The Honor Roll was developed using magisterial sources such as papal encyclicals and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Also considered was Church teaching on Catholic education, including Gravissimum Educationis, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, and documents published by the Congregation for Catholic Education. These sources offer guidance regarding the calling, mission, and purpose of Catholic education and explain how the Catholic faith should be integrated into the culture and curriculum of Catholic high schools.

What is meant by civic education? Why is it important?

Civic education consists broadly of those topics contained in most social studies classes: government, citizenship, law, economics, history, and business. However, the analysis of civic education extends beyond the facts learned in these courses. In a Catholic school, sound civic education depends on a proper understanding of the moral, cultural, economic, legal, and theological underpinnings of a social order that reflects the full truth about the human person as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.

In a Catholic school, Catholicism should not just be present in religion classes, but should permeate all that a school does. Thus formation of the person’s civic responsibilities requires preparing students for fruitful vocations in the civic realm, such as business and politics, as well as the capacity to think clearly about social problems, especially when fulfilling one’s responsibilities as a citizen.

Civic education is examined because it is deeply needed in society today, especially amongst Catholics. It is of its great importance for faithful Catholics to be involved in every facet of the world, both to provide examples of holiness and to bring the truth taught by the Catholic Church to bear on one’s area of civic, moral, sciencific and social expertise.

What does it cost to participate in the Honor Roll?

There is no cost or obligation attached to applying for or being named to the Honor Roll. It is a free resource for parents and schools.

Why do some schools not apply for the Honor Roll?

Most schools that do not apply are unaware of the existence of the Honor Roll. Even though all Catholic high schools in the USA are invited to apply, some may not have heard about this initiative or received our application packets in the spring. However, each year has seen a steady increase in the number of schools applying, and as word spreads we do expect more schools to participate.

Of those schools that are familiar with the Honor Roll but still choose not to participate, the most common sentiment is that they do not think their schools could place in the Top 50. Others say the surveys are too long and time-consuming. A few mistakenly take the Honor Roll to be a "Who's Who" list.

To help all schools, including those who do not fully understand the Honor Roll, each school that applies receives a thorough evaluation that outlines strengths and weaknesses and gives tips for improvement. Given there is no cost to participate, the evaluation is certainly worth the time it takes to apply.

Who sponsors the Honor Roll?

The Honor Roll is an independent project of the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a non-profit international education and research organization. It is administered under the guidance of a survey expert and a distinguished Advisory Board of Catholic college presidents and noted Catholic scholars. The Honor Roll stems from the Institute’s work in the field of religious education, which has included, for instance, a survey of economics education in Protestant and Catholic seminaries.

What are the category leader lists?

The category leader lists are the top performing schools in each of the 3 categories the Honor Roll measures: academics, Catholic identity, and civic education. These lists are secondary to the overall Top 50 list, where schools must have proficiency in each of the 3 measurement areas.  The category leader lists examine only one of the three criteria which is why these lists contain schools that might not necessarily place on the overall Top 50 list.

Can independent or private schools apply for the Honor Roll?

Yes, schools not affiliated with either a diocese or a religious order are still able to teach and form students in the Catholic faith. Under canon law, an independent school, which is usually operated by a lay board, must have the approval of the local bishop in order to be able to formally call itself a Catholic school. However, just as a home school family does not need to seek this permission, a private or independent school only needs to seek the bishop's recognition if it is to call itself Catholic. Otherwise the school simply operates as a private school teaching the Catholic Faith.

If you have further questions, please direct them to Anthony Pienta at info@chshonor.org or (616)454-3080.