Worldview Testing Office

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is the PEERS Worldview Test?

Purchasing the Test

Completing the Test

Test Results

What is the PEERS Worldview Test?

Just because you have your child enrolled in a Christian school, don’t assume they are spiritually safe. That is the conclusion of PEERS worldview testing conducted by The Nehemiah Institute over the past 18 years. The PEERS test, developed by Dan Smithwick of the Nehemiah Institute, measures the Bible’s influence on a person’s perceptions of the world in five areas: Politics, Education, Economics, Religion and Social Issues.These findings were reported in an article in the Chalcedon Report of October 2001 entitled, “One School-Generation to Go, and Then The End.” Not exactly what you’d call a cheery prognosis for Christian education. The chart below shows the downward trend in Christian worldview scores not only for Christian students attending public schools, but also for Christian students in typical Christian schools.From 1988 to 2000, average scores of Christian school students dropped by 30.3%. Results of evangelical family students in public schools dropped 36.8% in the same period. Christian students attending public schools now regularly score in the lower half of Secular Humanism and students in typical Christian schools score just below the minimum score to be rated in the Moderate Christian worldview. If present trends continue, Smithwick predicts that by 2008 students in Christian schools will have become operational socialists in their cultural perspective. To state the obvious, this does not bode well for the church.The good news is that Christian students who have received home school or classical Christian, or Principle Approach training are scoring at consistently higher levels. These are schools that have adopted specific worldview materials into their curriculum. Note, however, that even these students are not scoring in the upper “Christian Theism” range, but rather in the top levels of the “Moderate Christian” category. Nonetheless, it is this group that comprise the true “remnant” that God always preserves through periods of general apostasy. Unfortunately, they comprise less than five percent of total students tested.The problem with the typical Christian school is two-fold. Number one is the adoption of essentially humanistic curriculum materials and approach, salted with a few Bible verses and a chapel service. Typically, the Bible is made to fit the “Procrustean bed” of the humanistic world view. Number two is the requirement that teachers at Christian schools be certified by state teacher’s colleges. Far too often the Christian teachers themselves have imbibed essential elements of the humanistic world view from their training. What we end up with in most cases is baptized humanism.ClassicalFree students are required to take the PEERS test before embarking on coursework and again upon graduation. The test and scoring services are available at a discount for only $9.00. The idea will be to compare student test scores of a second test scores as they enter ClassicalFree — typically at the seventh grade level — with scores of a second test taken during the senior year. The PEERS test and accompanying worldview manual, “Developing a Biblical Worldview” will be made an integral part of our “American Government II” course during the senior year. That is the course that integrates the entire Great Books reading program and includes a practicum in your local community.

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Purchasing the Test

• Click on http://www.nehemiahinstitute.com/shop
• Click on the “create an account” link.
• Complete profile information as requested.
• In the address section, enter the following code in the Coupon Code field: CF503 (the code is case sensitive). This is a one-time entry. By using this code you will receive a 10% discount on the testing fee. You may also purchase other items and from Nehemiah Institute and receive 10% discount. You are free to use this code beyond your association with ClassicalFree school.
• You will then be instructed to establish an account password. Be sure to record your password in a safe place ( ).
• Click on the “Tests” link in the Categories box in the upper left corner.
• Click on “Buy Now” for the On-line PEERS, AA14 pre-test version, product #102.
• Click on Add to Cart.
• NOTE! If you are purchasing more than one test session (perhaps for others in your family), enter the number needed and then be sure to hit “Update” link, as instructed in red.
• Other products may also be purchased by clicking on “Continue Shopping,” or else click on “Checkout.”
• Enter your email and password information and click Sign In.
• Review/confirm shipping information; enter “ClassicalFree student” in Comments section, click “Continue.”
• Complete billing information, and finish order.
• Within seconds you will receive a confirmation email of your order with instructions for taking test. BE SURE to keep this email. ClassicalFree will also receive an email of your purchase providing the Group Code assigned to your testing session. This code will be entered into your school record for verification of your PEERS test and recording your scores.

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Completing the Test

The email instructions you will receive from Nehemiah Institute are sufficient for completing the online PEERS test. However, particular critical steps are repeated here:

• You will function as both test proctor and student. The first step will be to log-in as test proctor by clicking on the URL link provided in the confirmation email of your order with Nehemiah Institute.
• At this site you will log-in with your email address and with password provided in the email from your order.
• You will then be required to establish a second password which will be used to access the test. You could make this the same password used to establish an account at the Nehemiah Institute online store.
• From the proctor”s site, you will be instructed to “Print copy of test.” Be sure to do this- it will be the only record of test questions you will have which will be needed for review of test results.
• Next, within the email giving the URL for the proctor”s site, you will also find the “URL for the students.” Go to this link for accessing the actual test. After you have completed the test, you will go back to the proctor”s site to close out session, which sends the data file to Nehemiah Institute.
• To access the test you will be asked for the Group No. (found in your confirmation email) and the password that you established on the proctor”s site.
• Complete the test as instructed. NOTE! You must complete the test in one setting. If you log out before finishing or are disconnected, your responses will be discarded and you will need to restart the process. If this happens, you will find in the proctor”s site that your name is listed in the “uncompleted tests” in step #13. This must be deleted before session can be closed (a one-step easy process that is explained on proctor site).
• When finished with test, you will be instructed to “Print Your Answers.” Be sure to do this- it will be the only record of how you answered each question. The report will contain your name and Group Number. Neither the test questions nor your answers will be sent from Nehemiah Institute with your test results. You will however be advised which test items were answered correctly and which were answered incorrectly.
• After printing your answers your testing session is complete.
• VERY IMPORTANT! Return to the proctor’s site. You will now see that it shows “1” test complete. Now follow instructions for “logging out” test session. Data file will NOT be sent to Nehemiah Institute for processing without this final step. If you find that your session cannot be logged out, check to see if step #13 shows your name (or other names if you ordered more than one test session). These test sessions must be either completed (if someone is in process of taking the test) or deleted before you can log out.
• If you purchased more than one test, you may close out the session prior to all tests being finished. The unused tests are “rolled over” to a new session with a new Group Number. You would still access those tests by using the same email address and password as used in the original proctoring session. The new Group Number will now have to be used for using the remaining tests.
• Click on Step #16 to log out. This will take you to another “Make Sure” notice, and then if ready, the final step is to click on Click Here.
• You will be advised that your file has been sent to Nehemiah Institute. You may hit the “log out” link, or just close your browser.

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Test Results

Results of the online PEERS Test are processed and delivered from Nehemiah Institute via US mail normally within 2-3 days of completion of test. You will receive a Personal PEERS Scorecard and other pertinent information about your test. Information will be included to assist with interpretation of your scores and recommendations for other study materials.At a later time, upon completion of worldview studies at ClassicalFree, you may elect to take the post-test version, AA16. The process is the same.

Follow this link to sign up for the PEERS test and order other worldview materials:Nehemiah Institute

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