ACADEMICALLY EXCELLENT
MCA is an Illinois Recognized school and meets or exceeds all of the state standards for curriculum and instruction.
MCA is ACSI accredited and has met all of the standards required for full accreditation through the commission of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). ACSI accreditation is recognized nationally for its excellence and has joint accreditation agreements with regional agencies such as MSACS, SACS-CASI and Advanced Ed.
ACSI Accreditation is a recognition of the school’s excellence. The school has met or exceeded a specific set of standards which measure its spiritual life and Christian distinctiveness, the academic program and its organization of the scope and sequence, objectives and instructional strategies of the curriculum, its provision for the health and safety of its students and the allocation of its resources in a way that achieves its goals.
A variety of measurements and assessments are used to determine the quality of the instructional program at MCA. Since the spring of 2021, MCA has used the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) as an annual assessment of student progress. The ACSI recommends the use of the ITBS as a measure of average yearly progress made by students. The standard scores measure student progress in core subject areas, including mathematics, all aspects of English/Language Arts including phonics in grades 1-3, reading skills, writing skills, grammar and spelling, social studies at each grade level, including geography, American and world history, and basic science concepts.
Test scores are not the product of education, they measure student progress from year to year. At MCA, we look at two outcomes. One is that the student has met the benchmarks for their grade level in each core subject. The second is that the student has progressed a full grade level from their previous score. On the 2022 ITBS, more than 90% of the students at MCA met or exceeded grade level expectations in core subjects and as a school, our overall composite score over the past two years is at the 65th percentile, which is 15 points higher than the mid-point, and means that our students, as a school, did better than 65% of all other students across the country who took the same test. This is in the “high average” range.
More than two-thirds of our students, 69%, scored in the top quartile in at least one core subject area. The national average is 50%. In the top quartile, the national average is 25%, while at MCA, 45% of our students scored in the top quartile in all core subjects. Our highest scores are in social studies, but our students also continue to show strong performance in English/Language Arts at every grade level and also are very strong in phonics and reading skills in the lower grades. Our mathematics scores at the middle school level have significantly improved since curriculum objectives were modified to add Pre-Algebra at grade 7, and Algebra 1 at grade 8. We have sustained this level of academic achievement during the past two years of the COVID pandemic.
In addition to the core content areas, MCA also offers the following classes during the day to all students in PreK3 – 8th grade: Art, Physical Education, and Music. Students in 4th-8th grade are able to choose between general music, choir, band and orchestra.
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WHERE DO OUR GRADUATES ATTEND HIGH SCHOOL?
Our past three graduating classes have gone on to attend:
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Chicago Academy
Chicago Bulls College Prep Chicago Hope Academy Christian Liberty Academy Guerin College Prep Holy Trinity High School Intrinsic High School ITW David Speer Academy Lane Tech College Prep Lincoln Park High School Logos Christian Academy |
Maine South High School
Maine West High School Northtown Academy Proviso Math and Science Academy Pritzker College Prep Rauner College Prep Steinmetz College Prep Taft High School Timothy Christian High School Walther Christian Academy Westinghouse College Prep |
3465 N Cicero Ave,
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 685-1106
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 685-1106