The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office of Catholic Education will honor sixty-two parish and regional elementary schools as 2025 Archdiocesan Schools of Distinguished Instruction. The awards ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, August 7, 2025, at Saints Simon and Jude Church in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Andrew McLaughlin, Secretary for Elementary Education for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, along with other senior administrators from the Office of Catholic Education (OCE), will attend the event. Representatives from OCE will lead a prayer vigil followed by the presentation of awards.

Thirteen schools are being recognized for both Growth and Exceeding Potential. The Growth category was determined by comparing this year’s Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) scores to those from the previous academic year. Schools in this category demonstrated a full year’s growth in total mastery of skills at every level tested using comparative NCE data.

Recognition for Exceeding Potential was based on analysis of ability testing (InView) and achievement testing (Terra Nova). Schools were found to have a majority of classes meeting or exceeding their potential in all content areas at every level tested with a growth rate exceeding 80%.

"Thirteen schools will be recognized for Growth and Exceeding Potential. Recognition for Growth was determined by comparing the Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) score from this year’s testing to the NCE examinations taken by students in the previous academic year. These schools were found to have shown a full year’s growth in the total mastery of skills at every level tested using comparative NCE data," according to information provided by the Archdiocese.

"Recognition for Exceeding Potential was determined by analyzing the data from the ability testing (InView) and the achievement testing (Terra Nova) in which schools were found to have a majority of the classes meeting or exceeding their potential in all content areas at every level tested with a growth rate exceeding 80%," said representatives from OCE.

The thirteen schools recognized for both categories include Saint Ephrem Parish School, Saint Joseph Parish School, Saint Norbert Parish School, Cardinal John Foley Regional Catholic School, Saint Anastasia Parish School, Saint James Regional Catholic School, Saint Laurence Parish School, Corpus Christi Parish School, Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School, Saint Aloysius Parish School, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish School, Saint Cecilia Parish School, and Saint Peter the Apostle School.

Forty-three additional schools are being honored solely for Growth based on their students’ performance on standardized tests compared with previous years. Six more schools are being recognized exclusively for Exceeding Potential due to high rates of student achievement relative to ability measures.

The awards highlight efforts across Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County.