Christian School Evaluation Checklist

Faith Schooling Published 2026-07-16 Updated 2026-07-19

Print this. Take it with you. Write the answers down while you’re there — you will not remember them by the third school, and the differences are what decide this.

School: Date visited:

Before you walk in — two habits

Ask open questions, not yes/no ones. “Do you teach a biblical worldview?” gets a yes from every school on earth. “Show me how a biblical worldview changed something in your eighth-grade science class this year” gets you a real example or a thoughtful pause.

Note any question that got a value instead of an answer. When something’s uncomfortable, it’s natural for a school to reach for what really matters is that we love these kids. They probably do. It’s still not the answer to what you asked. That short list is your real report.

1. Doctrine — ask first

Good schools expect this question. Asking it is not rude.

Ask	Their answer
What does your school teach about salvation?
What’s taught about baptism?
About the Godhead?
About receiving the Holy Ghost?
What happens if my child says something in Bible class the teacher disagrees with?
May I see your statement of faith?	☐ Shown ☐ Not shown
May I see the Bible curriculum you actually use?	☐ Shown ☐ Not shown
Are teachers required to affirm the statement of faith — and is it checked?

Listen for: a specific, comfortable answer, and no defensiveness when you say you believe differently.

Remember: most Christian schools are broadly evangelical, and their teaching here will differ from Apostolic doctrine — often sincerely and well, just differently. A difference isn’t disqualifying. Not knowing about it until fourth grade is the part that hurts.

2. Academics

Ask	Their answer
Are teachers certified? How many teach outside their subject?
Teacher turnover, last three years?
Standardized results — may I see them?	☐ Shown ☐ Not shown
Accredited by whom? (Then look them up — accreditors vary enormously.)
Which advanced courses actually ran last year?
Where did last year’s graduating class go?
Class size — and what it looks like when a teacher is out?

Turnover is quietly the most useful question here. Teachers vote with their feet, and a stable faculty is a very good sign.

3. Faith integration — the heart of what you’re paying for

Ask	Their answer
One specific example of a biblical worldview changing something taught in history this year?
Same for science?
How do you teach origins? What do students read?
A literature book some families object to — skip it, teach it, or teach through it?
Is Bible a graded course with a real curriculum?

Listen for: a teacher with an example ready, because they actually did it in October.

Chapel, a verse of the week, and a mission trip are genuinely good things — they’re just activities rather than integration, and integration is what the tuition is for.

4. The other children

Ask	Their answer
Expectations for students outside of school?
Phone policy — and how it works in practice?
Bullying — tell me about a real situation last year?
How many families are here for the faith vs. the academics?

“Both, and it’s a real tension for us” is a good answer.

5. Discipline

Ask	Their answer
Walk me through the third time a child is disrespectful to a teacher.
Has a student ever been asked to leave? What happened?
Difference here between discipline and punishment?
How do you keep discipline consistent across families?

6. The money

Ask	Their answer
Full annual cost — tuition, fees, books, uniforms, technology, trips, fundraising?	$
Tuition increase each of the last five years?
How is the school doing financially?
What happens if we have a hard month?

Ask for the all-in number; the brochure figure rarely includes everything. And a school confident in its value doesn’t need to rush you into a thirteen-year decision.

Do the math before you leave the parking lot: All-in cost × 13 years = $ Hours per week a parent works to pay for it:

7. The child who doesn’t fit

Ask even if it doesn’t apply today. Children change.

Ask	Their answer
A child behind in reading — what do you have?
Can you serve an IEP or 504?
If my child struggles, do you work with us?
A gifted child who’s bored?

“We can’t serve that well, and here’s what we’d suggest instead” is one of the best answers you can get. It’s a school that knows itself and won’t take your money for something it can’t do.

8. How they work with parents

Ask	Their answer
A time a parent disagreed — what happened?
When something goes wrong, do I hear it from you or from my child?
What’s expected of parents — hours, fundraising, committees?

You’re looking for people you can work with for over a decade. How they handle a hard question today is a fair preview of how they’ll handle one in eight years.

Besides asking

Sat in on a real class. (Most schools are glad to arrange it.)
Talked to parents they didn’t pick for me — parking lot, or families in my own church. Asked: “What do you wish you’d known?” →
Talked to a family who left. (The most useful conversation available, and the one a school can’t arrange.) →
Watched the hallway between classes.
Looked at the teachers, not the administrator. Did they look glad to be there? ☐ Yes ☐ No

The one to end on

“What is this school not good at?”

Their answer:

A strong school will answer this — the science lab is dated, losing a math teacher last spring hurt, special needs is where they’re thinnest. A school that knows its own weaknesses is being run by people paying attention, and that’s exactly who you want teaching your child.

Your verdict

Questions that got a value instead of an answer:

The thing that impressed me most:

The thing that concerns me most:

Would I hand this school six hours a day of my child’s mind? ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Need another visit

“The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.”
Proverbs 14:15

Considering well your steps isn’t a lack of faith — it’s the instruction. Ask warmly, write it down, then commit with your eyes open.

Print this. Take it with you. Write the answers down while you’re there — you will not remember them by the third school, and the differences are what decide this.

School: Date visited:

1. Doctrine — ask first

Good schools expect this question. Asking it is not rude.

Ask	Their answer
What does your school teach about salvation?
What’s taught about baptism?
About the Godhead?
About receiving the Holy Ghost?
What happens if my child says something in Bible class the teacher disagrees with?
May I see your statement of faith?	☐ Shown ☐ Not shown
May I see the Bible curriculum you actually use?	☐ Shown ☐ Not shown
Are teachers required to affirm the statement of faith — and is it checked?

Listen for: a specific, comfortable answer, and no defensiveness when you say you believe differently. Most Christian schools are broadly evangelical and will differ from Apostolic doctrine — a difference isn’t disqualifying; not knowing about it until fourth grade is the part that hurts.

2. Academics

Ask	Their answer
Are teachers certified? How many teach outside their subject?
Teacher turnover, last three years?
Standardized results — may I see them?	☐ Shown ☐ Not shown
Accredited by whom? (Then look them up.)
Which advanced courses actually ran last year?
Where did last year’s graduating class go?
Class size — and what it looks like when a teacher is out?

Turnover is quietly the most useful question here. Teachers vote with their feet; a stable faculty is a very good sign.