What do you think of when you hear the word “quality”? Probably a well-made product, such as an automobile without built-in obsolescence, or a skillfully crafted violin capable of producing a most exquisite sound. Quality, in general, suggests a set of characteristics that make something rise above the mediocre. If something is “of quality” it either meets or exceeds a very high standard. In a sense, all the children in Lake Wobegon are “quality children.”

Quality is one of the most commonly used words in the current educational vocabulary. Everywhere we go we run into the pursuit of quality. Associations promoting educational quality are flourishing. Conferences entirely focused on quality education attract large crowds. Programs reputed to foster quality are a dime a dozen. Quality has become one of those vague, broad-ranging overused buzzwords, like student achievement or improving instruction. 

Christian education has not lagged behind in all the frenzy. Hundreds of Christian schools urge parents to enroll their children in their programs, promising them a “quality education.” In most cases, “quality” is closely aligned with “excellence.” Academic excellence, it seems, guarantees quality. Like quality, excellence is another buzzword: frequently used but rarely defined. 

When a Christian school touts itself as offering a quality education, what kind of education is it talking about? It looks as if, in general, quality refers to a combination of biblical principles, academic rigor, high moral standards, strict discipline, and a guarantee that student achievement will surpass all the standards. One might ask: Other than the reference to biblical principles, is this kind of quality not available in a good, well-funded public charter school? After all, contrary to popular opinion, not all public schools are bastions of immorality, relativism, and underachievement.

Happily, some Christian schools expand the concept of quality to include ingredients such as a biblical perspective on subject matter. A curriculum centered on Jesus does indeed set Christian education apart. Of course, this addition does not guarantee what we ordinarily mean by quality. Some Christian curricula talk much about God and quote biblical truths, but remain recognizably inferior in areas of scope, sequence, and learning goals. In other words, the overall quality still suffers.

The concept “quality,” then, remains a fuzzy, slippery term. Some have suggested that quality, or the absence thereof, can only be recognized, never clearly defined. Nevertheless, it makes sense to address its meaning, for if in using the word we really don’t know what we are talking about, all sorts of misleading conclusions may be drawn. Parents considering enrolling their children in one of two schools that both claim to offer a quality education surely need to know what is meant to be able to make a responsible choice.

One reason for the vagueness and diversity of the meaning of quality is that in our culture various voices persuade us to adopt a specific take on the word. There is, for example, the voice of the promise of success. Quality, this voice tells us, describes the kind of education that ensures your children will succeed. They will be able to beat out the competition. Or, to use another example, there is the voice of pragmatism. It tries to convince us that quality education is the kind of education that makes use of all the latest techniques and tricks to make sure that test scores remain high and that no child is left behind.

Christian schools are particularly susceptible to the age-old voice of dualism. Go for the powerful academic stuff, this voice advocates, just like they do in the elite academies, and add a generous dose of religion like devotions and Bible study to make it Christian. Dualism cajoles us into believing that it is okay to adopt a view of standards of quality endorsed by the secular community while at the same time maintaining high levels of religiosity.

These voices do not come out of the blue. Rather, they reflect a story line. They represent what Brian McLaren calls “framing stories,” stories that tell people “who they are, where they come from, where they are, what’s going on, where things are going, and what they should do.” These stories persuade listeners to order their lives – and their educational practice – according to what they hear. Versions of “quality education,” too, are consequences of people listening to stories. 

Two questions arise: What story governs a Christian understanding of a quality education? And what would our educational practice look like if we really listened to the voice telling the story? These are profound questions. The story we must hear is the sweep of the biblical Story that tells us where we are and what we are to do. We are creatures, walking before the face of God – coram Deo, as the Reformation phrase has it – tainted by the mystery of sin, called to tend and restore the lovely Garden of God, and empowered to do so through the cross of Christ.

While this may sound like a lot of theology, it really is the Story that frames our understanding of a quality education. For the implications of coram Deo are legion: Think only of the human stance before the face of God. Either we are turned towards his face, eager to hear his voice, or we stand with backs turned, listening to a cacophony of misleading voices. The key to quality Christian education opens the door to accepting and living this framing Story.

All the characteristics that purportedly produce quality education, such as high achievement, moral standards, application of biblical principles, and the like, fail to define quality Christian education if they are divorced from the overarching, framing Story.  Academics, for example, mean little or nothing unless they help deepen the students’ sense of who they are coram Deo and what they are called to do in the Garden.  

And what, indeed, are they called to do? The Garden, a symbol for all of creation, has become a messy place, full of degradation, exploitation, and misery. Gone from the Garden is the shalom the Lord intended. Quality Christian education equips the next generation to recognize and address the distortions of the world. Quality Christian education empowers students to hear the voice telling the greatest Story ever told and to order their lives accordingly.

Quality Christian education, in short, enables our children to continue their life’s journey with ears attuned to the Story. To achieve this momentous task, Christian schools continuously need to ask fundamental questions about life, our culture, and the spirits that roam about, uttering derailing voices. Christian schools search the nooks and crannies of the Garden, to see what is happening, what has gone wrong, and how to heal and restore.  They explore the ins and outs of every aspect of educational practice. Their efforts are marked by a reliance on the Spirit of God accompanied by steadfast hope. 

Alta Vista aims to facilitate conversations about quality Christian education in this full sense of the word. Stay tuned.