Methodology
Every grade on Christian School Compass is computed by a published rubric from facts documented on official pages. This page publishes the full rubric (version 2.3, Oct. 21, 2026) and the rules behind it.
Principles
- Facts first, grades computed. Researchers record what a college’s own catalog, student handbook, statement of faith and spiritual life pages say. A program turns those facts into grades. No one types a letter grade by hand.
- Every claim sourced. Each fact is stored with a verbatim quote and a link, and is shown with the date we last confirmed it.
- Never guess. If public sources don’t cover enough of a pillar, the grade is “Not enough information.” A missing web page is not treated as a missing program.
- Fair to every tradition. The rubric measures what Christian colleges of every Protestant and evangelical tradition share: worship and chapel, Bible and theology, Christian community, and missions and service. Each counts equally. Conduct covenants, student statements of faith and policies on sexuality are reported as sourced facts and never graded.
- No controversies, rumors, or anonymous allegations. We rate documented programs and policies. We do not rate news coverage, speakers, lawsuits, or personnel disputes.
- Independent. No ads, no paid placements, no money from rated schools.
The Compass Score: Our formula
Three parts faith, one part academics. The Compass Score combines a college's Faith score (its Christian life, from verified research) with its Academic Excellence score (from federal data). It is computed only when both are available. Cost and value are never part of it; they are shown separately.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
- Faith is the overall faith score (the average of the four pillars below). It comes only from verified research.
- Academics is the Academic Excellence score, computed from federal data (details).
- The Compass Score is computed only when both exist. It uses the same letter scale as every other grade. The faith pillar grades are never changed by it, and cost, debt, and earnings are never part of it.
- Why three to one? The Compass exists to describe Christian life and identity, so faith carries the most weight; academic excellence is part of a Christian education’s promise, so it counts too. The weights are fixed and apply to every school.
How faith grades are computed
- Each pillar has indicators worth a total of 100 points (listed below). Each indicator’s value must be backed by at least one verified quote from an official source.
- A pillar is graded only when documented indicators carry at least 60% of its points (and any indicator marked “required for a grade” is documented). Otherwise it is “Not enough information.”
- The pillar score is the points earned divided by the points possible on the documented indicators, times 100. Undocumented indicators neither add nor subtract.
- Letter grades: A ≥ 85, B ≥ 70, C ≥ 55, D ≥ 40, F below 40.
- The overall grade is the simple average of the pillar scores, shown when at least 3 of the 4 pillars are graded. It is the college’s Faith score.
- Compass Recommended: a Faith score of 80 or more with at least three pillars graded and none below C. When the school has an Academic Excellence score, its Compass Score must also be 80 or more.
- Honor Roll: a Faith score of 85 or higher (grade A) with all four pillars graded and none below 70 (grade B).
- Partly researched: a college with verified facts, but not enough to grade its faith, shows those facts instead of a grade. It has no Compass Score until its faith is graded. It is never shown as failing.
- The letter-grade thresholds were fixed before any school was graded and apply to every school alike. Any change to the rubric applies to every school at once and is listed in the change log.
Academic Excellence
A mechanical score from federal data, the same for every school. It measures whether students finish, whether they come back after the first year, how prepared entering students are, and how much teaching attention and investment each student receives. It never uses magazine rankings, reputation surveys, or a school's own marketing.
Colleges
Four-year colleges with at least 100 undergraduates (seminaries and graduate-only schools are not rated). Fixed published scales, not curves: a school's score does not move because another school changed. The letter is set on a curve by rank among all U.S. four-year colleges (see curve).
| Measure | Weight | 0 points at | 100 points at | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graduation rate Share of full-time, first-time students who finish within six years (150% of normal time). Finishing is the first sign that a college teaches and supports its students. | 35% of scoreThis measure counts for 35% of the Academic Excellence score. | 5% | 85% | College Scorecard (C150_4), from IPEDS Graduation Rates |
| First-year retention Share of full-time freshmen who return for a second year. | 20% of scoreThis measure counts for 20% of the Academic Excellence score. | 35% | 95% | College Scorecard (RET_FT4), from IPEDS Fall Enrollment |
| Entering students' test scores SAT or ACT middle score of admitted students who submitted scores (whichever earns more points). Test-optional and test-free schools that report no scores are scored on the other measures. | 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score. | SAT 800 or ACT 15 | SAT 1450 or ACT 32 | College Scorecard (SAT_AVG, SATVR/SATMT 25th-75th, ACTCM 25th-75th), from IPEDS Admissions |
| Student-to-faculty ratio Students per instructional faculty member. Fewer students per teacher means more personal instruction. | 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score. | 28 students per teacher | 8 students per teacher | College Scorecard (STUFACR), from IPEDS |
| Instructional spending per student Dollars spent on instruction per full-time-equivalent student (a logarithmic scale, so each doubling counts the same). | 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score. | $2,500 | $30,000 | College Scorecard (INEXPFTE), from IPEDS Finance |
- Each measure earns points on a straight-line scale between its two anchors (instructional spending uses a logarithmic scale), capped at 0 and 100. The score is the weighted average over the measures the school reports.
- A school is scored only when its reported measures carry at least 60% of the weight and include the graduation rate. Otherwise it is “Not enough information.”
- The score stays on a 0 to 100 scale. Its letter is set on a curve by rank among every U.S. four-year college rated on it, not only Christian colleges: A+ for the top 3%, A for the top 10%, A- for the top 20%, B+ for the top 35%, B for the top 55%, B- for the top 75%, and C+ for the rest. No college gets a D or F for academics.
- We do not use magazine rankings, reputation surveys, or alumni giving: they are proprietary, subjective, or both. Admission rate is not used, because a low admission rate measures demand rather than teaching.
- Federal figures lag by one to two years and cover only some students (for example, graduation rates follow first-time, full-time students).
The full faith rubric
Christian college faith scorecard
Applies to: Protestant and evangelical four-year colleges on this site (see who's included on the methodology page).
Worship and chapel
How often students gather for chapel and worship, whether chapel is expected, and who leads the campus's spiritual life.
Basis: Shared worship is the most visible sign of a Christian campus. We record how often chapel meets, whether students are expected to attend, and the people and places that support prayer and worship.
| Code | Indicator | Findings and points |
|---|---|---|
| S1 | Chapel services during the week |
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| S2 | Chapel attendance expected of students |
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| S3 | Student worship nights or praise services |
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| S4 | Prayer opportunities (prayer rooms, prayer groups, days or weeks of prayer) |
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| S5 | Campus pastors or chaplains serving students |
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| S6 | A chapel or worship space on campus |
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| S7 | Published weekly schedule of chapel, worship and prayer Computed automatically from the verified chapel services, worship nights and prayer times listed on the college's page (each day a time is offered counts once) |
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Bible and theology
What every undergraduate studies in Bible and theology, and how openly faith shapes teaching across the college.
Basis: Many Christian colleges ask every student to study the Bible and to think about their field from a Christian point of view. We count what the catalog requires of all bachelor's students and what the college publicly affirms.
| Code | Indicator | Findings and points |
|---|---|---|
| T1 | Bible or theology courses required of all bachelor's students |
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| T2 | Required courses include study of the Old and New Testaments |
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| T3 | Christian worldview or faith-and-learning courses required |
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| T4 | Faith integrated across the curriculum (stated in academic or faculty policy) |
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| T5 | Bible, theology or ministry major offered |
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| T6 | A published statement of faith |
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Christian community
Spiritual life staff, retreats, Bible studies and student groups, faculty who share the college's faith, and faith in the residence halls.
Basis: A Christian college is also a community. We record the people and programs that help students grow in faith together, and whether the faculty affirm the college's statement of faith.
| Code | Indicator | Findings and points |
|---|---|---|
| C1 | Spiritual life staff (pastors, ministers and professional staff) |
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| C2 | Retreats or spiritual emphasis weeks each year |
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| C3 | Bible studies, small groups and Christian student organizations |
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| C4 | Faculty affirm the college's statement of faith |
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| C5 | Faith life in residence halls (hall Bible studies, resident ministry leaders) |
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| C6 | Help finding a local church (church fairs, rides, partner churches) |
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| C7 | Office or senior leader for spiritual life or Christian mission |
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Missions and service
Service programs, missions trips, ministry partnerships and how serving others is tied to the college's Christian mission.
Basis: Serving others is a common thread of Christian colleges of every tradition. We record service and missions programs and whether the college ties them to its Christian mission.
| Code | Indicator | Findings and points |
|---|---|---|
| V1 | Service or outreach office |
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| V2 | Service hours or service-learning in the curriculum |
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| V3 | Missions trips offered to students |
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| V4 | Partnerships with local churches and ministries for service |
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| V5 | Cross-cultural or global ministry programs |
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| V6 | Service explicitly rooted in the Christian mission |
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Reported, never graded
Reported only as sourced facts, never graded.
- Statement of faith required of students
- Community covenant (rules on conduct)
- Church sponsor and denomination family
- CCCU or ABHE membership
- Policies on sexuality and religious exemptions
Rubric change log
- Version 2.3 (Oct. 21, 2026): New online scorecard for colleges whose students are mostly online (pct_online_only 90 or more). It uses its own checklist (online worship and prayer, Bible and theology, Christian community online, service) graded with the same engine and the same 60% coverage rule. The campus scorecard is unchanged. Online colleges leave the campus rankings and the Honor Roll.
- Version 2.3 (Oct. 20, 2026): Academic Excellence letters are set on a curve against all U.S. four-year colleges rated on the score (the share scoring higher: A+ top 3%, A top 10%, A- top 20%, B+ top 35%, B top 55%, B- top 75%, C+ for the rest). Never D or F, so a college with a low score is shown as C+, not failing. The score itself stays on 0 to 100 with its published scales (every full-credit level is reached by some colleges: graduation 85% at 138 colleges, retention 95% at 121, average test score 1450 at 85). The Compass Score uses that 0 to 100 score unchanged in its 75/25 blend with faith. Faith grades, the faith rubric and the Honor Roll and Recommended rules are unchanged.
- Version 2.1 (Oct. 19, 2026): The weekly worship schedule (S7) is now computed from the verified chapel services, worship nights and prayer times, on five tiers from 1 or 2 a week up to 10 or more. Before, it was a yes or no.
- Version 2.0 (Oct. 19, 2026): First version for Christian School Compass. The four faith pillars are Worship and chapel, Bible and theology, Christian community, and Missions and service. Sensitive policies (conduct covenants, policies on sexuality, student statements of faith) are reported as sourced facts and never graded.
- Version (—):
Evidence and verification
- Allowed sources: the college’s own website, academic catalog, student handbook and statement of faith; the official site of its sponsoring church or denomination; an organization’s statement about its own work (for example, the CCCU listing its members); and U.S. government data.
- Not used: news outlets, blogs, social media, Wikipedia, review sites, other college guides, and third-party directories.
- Automated quote checks: each quote is re-checked against the live page, and a quote that can’t be found doesn’t count. Pages are re-downloaded at least every 14 days during verification. Each fact shows its “last verified” date.
- Polite collection: our tools identify themselves, rate-limit requests, and obey each site’s robots.txt. Pages a site asks robots not to fetch are never used.
- Researchers: research is carried out by AI research assistants working under a written protocol and reviewed by automated checks and spot-checks against the sources. Every step is reproducible from the public evidence.
Value and outcomes
The Cost and value panel uses the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS. It shows average net price for students receiving federal aid, cost of attendance, median federal debt at graduation, graduation rate within 150% of normal time, first-year retention, median earnings ten years after entry, admission rate, and Pell grant share. Cost, debt, and earnings are never blended into any grade. (Graduation and retention also feed Academic Excellence, described above.)
Value index (used only for the Best Value ranking): among four-year colleges with complete data, each college gets a percentile for net price (lower is better, 30%), graduation rate (30%), median earnings (25%), and median debt (lower is better, 15%). The weighted average is scaled to 0–100. The Best Value ranking lists Christian colleges with a Faith grade of B or better, ordered by this index.
Which schools are included
- Colleges: currently active, accredited four-year U.S. colleges in IPEDS (2024–25), meaning each participates in federal student aid or holds a current institutional accreditation in the Department of Education’s DAPIP database. A few accredited Christian colleges are added by hand, with sources.
- Christian colleges: four-year colleges reporting an evangelical or conservative Protestant affiliation to IPEDS, plus any member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). Colleges tied to mainline churches are included only when they belong to the CCCU. Catholic, Orthodox and Latter-day Saint colleges are not included. Seminaries and graduate-only schools are listed and flagged, but excluded from undergraduate rankings.
- Research order: CCCU members and the best-known colleges first, then the rest. Colleges not yet researched are labeled as such.
Limitations
- Public websites don’t show everything. A school may have programs it doesn’t describe online.
- Schedules and policies change. Check the “last verified” date and confirm with the school.
- Indicators measure documented opportunities, not how many students take part or the quality of teaching.
- Federal outcome data cover only some students (for example, students who received federal aid).
See something wrong? Send a correction with a link to an official source.