1100 Hood Road SE - Rio Rancho, NM 87124 - (505) 892-3221 - fax (505) 892-3350

Academics

ITBS Test Results        Writing Assessment Results

St. Thomas Aquinas School strives to provide a well-rounded, holistic education for its students. Core subjects include religion, reading, math, language arts, science and social studies.

The curriculum is formed according to federal, state and archdiocesan guidelines. It is adapted to the particular needs of the students in light of the goals of Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish.

In the primary grades, theme-based lessons encourage the development of basic skills and competencies. Direct instruction coupled with rich, hands-on experiences set young learners on an eager path of self-discovery in their thirst for the truths of our faith and our world.

The middle grades continue their pursuit of wisdom with direct instruction and a more cooperative learning-based approach. A greater focus on content enables the students to understand and integrate more complex knowledge.

A strong, broad and comprehensive academic base supports the search for truth that ultimately leads to knowledge and love of God, who is Truth itself. Core subjects are taught in a challenging and developmentally appropriate style. Art, music and gym are also offered.  

2010 ITBS Results

The chart below demonstrates our students’ performance in each of the main categories of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS).  The ITBS is a nationally normed achievement test taken by schools across the United States.  Students in grades 1 – 7 took the test in February 2010.  Eighth graders were tested in October 2009.

The national percentile rank (NPR) shows how our school compares to schools across the nation.  The NPR is the percent of students nationwide who scored below our students in the same grade.  The NPR is not the percent of correct answers.  For example, in fourth grade the NPR for math is 82, which means that STA 4th graders scored higher than 82 percent of 4th graders nationally.  In other words, only 18% of all 4th graders taking the ITBS scored the same or higher than STA 4th graders in math. We are pleased to report that in virtually all grades and subjects, our classes rank in the upper 25% of classes taking the ITBS. Also, all classes performed above grade level: in some grades, more than a year above.  This is determined by comparing the students’ current grade at the time of testing (6th month for grades 1-7 and 2nd month for eighth grade) with the grade equivalent (GE) score.

Congratulations to our students and teachers.  We are proud of their success.

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2009 Writing Assessment Results

The 4th and 6th grade students of the Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe were administered the NWREL Writing Assessment during the last week of April. The NWREL consists of writing prompts that measure students' ability to organize, generate and express ideas in four types of writing situations: narrative, descriptive, persuasive, and expository. Our 4th graders wrote a descriptive piece of writing, while our 6th graders wrote an expository piece. The writings were also evaluated by the writing categories of Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions. These categories were then averaged for a total score. Below are St. Thomas Aquinas' results, as well as the Archdiocese (13 schools) averages based on a 5 point scale (5 being the highest).

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