– Sherlock Holmes in A Scandal in Bohemia

BaseCamp Live guest, Dr. Tim Dernlan, sounds more like an investigator than a Head of School. Putting on his Sherlock cap, Dernlan gathered and analyzed critical data to determine if Christian schools make a difference in the spiritual lives of students.

Lifeway and Barna studies show that around 70% of Christian students walk away from the faith after graduation, so parents want to know what model offers students the best probability of keeping and maintaining their faith.

Specifically, he wondered if students who attend classical Christian schools are better at retaining long-term faith after graduation than students of non-classical or “modern” Christian schools.

The bottom line:  Are all Christian schools the same when it comes affecting students and their spiritual formation?  What he found surprised him.

When he began the study, Dernlan had not yet enrolled his own children in any kind of Christian school, nor did he think there was a difference.

To conduct a legitimate quantitative research study, Dernlan needed a reliable tool to measure Christian faith commitment. Since none existed, he developed a tool consisting of an in-depth survey.  Nine versions later, and after running it through the Human Subjects Review Board and testing for reliability to ensure qualitatively significant statistical differences, he began collecting data.  He measured the spiritual formation of 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students in comparable schools selected from a pool of classical schools and a pool of modern Christian schools.

The study measured the students’ responses in three specific Christian areas: knowledge of the Bible, belief that the Bible is true, and how strongly those beliefs affect one’s personal life.  The effectiveness of each school was compared to other Christian schools, both Classical and non-classical or modern.

The data revealed various differences and trends as students transitioned to higher grades.

Surprisingly, fourth graders showed a higher commitment to the Christian faith in modern Christian schools.  By the time they entered 12th grade, the trend line went down in modern Christian schools and up in classical schools where almost 100% of students reported a strong faith in Christ and a desire to live like a Christian.

According to Dernlan, this finding suggests,“How important it is to stay through 12th grade and not leave in 8th grade; if you make it through the logic stage, and you leave, then you leave before it’s all put back together.”

Additionally, when asked how often their teachers talk about faith and God, the trend was up in classical schools and down in modern Christian schools.  These results correlated strongly to the student’s responses about their faith.

Seventy percent of students in classical Christian schools reported that their parents were the #1 influencers of their faith compared to thirty percent of students in non-classical schools.  The findings may suggest that CCE schools are better at supporting parental authority, as well as encouraging non-parental mentors.

Dernlan’s data goes a long way to show that Classical Christian Schools help students go the distance spiritually and that modern Christian schools are not as effective.

While we might be tempted to agree with the Austrian physicist Ludwig Bolzman who said that, “There is nothing so practical as a good theory,” we know better.  In the spirit of  Sherlock, our theories must fit the facts, not the other way around.

Even then, because our ultimate standard is Scripture, and all science is under its authority, Dernlan acknowledges in his book that, “Faith formation comes from the work of the Holy Spirit and cannot be fully measured by a survey or produced by the work of people.” (Pazmino, 2010)

Key takeaway