Methodology

Every grade on Catholic School Compass is computed by a published rubric from facts documented on official pages. This page publishes the full rubric (version 1.2, Oct. 12, 2026) and the rules behind it.

Principles

Facts first, grades computed. Researchers record what a school’s own catalog, handbook, campus ministry, parish, or diocese 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.
Balanced. The rubric draws its categories from Church documents, especially Ex Corde Ecclesiae and the Code of Canon Law, used as neutral reference points. Sacramental life, intellectual formation, community, and service each count equally. Pro-life work and other justice work carry equal points.
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: The Fides et Ratio Formula

Three parts faith, one part reason. The Compass Score combines a school's Faith score (its Catholic identity and Catholic 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.

“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”
Pope St. John Paul II, Fides et Ratio (1998), opening blessing (vatican.va)

75%Faith (Fides)25%Academics (Ratio)0–100Compass Score

Faith (Fides) is the overall faith score for Catholic colleges and high schools (the average of the four pillars below), or the Catholic life score for other colleges. It comes only from verified research.
Academics (Ratio) 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 Catholic life and identity, so faith carries the most weight; academic excellence is part of a Catholic education’s promise, so it counts too. The weights are fixed and apply to every school.
Catholic colleges and other colleges have different faith scorecards, so their scores are ranked separately. For other colleges the same 75/25 number is shown as the Catholic Life Score (Catholic life on campus and academics), in teal, with a cross on the ring. It is not comparable to the Compass Score of a Catholic college.

The Compass shows two scores. The Compass Score (blue) is the headline for Catholic colleges: 75% faith and 25% academics. The Catholic Life Score (teal) has one definition for every college: 75% campus Catholic life (campus ministry, priests, Mass and confession, student groups, and nearby parishes) and 25% academics, using the same weights and rounding as the Compass Score. Catholic colleges get it too. Their campus Catholic life comes from the facts already verified for their college scorecard, with no separate research, so one ranking can compare all colleges. The Catholic life grade on each school is its campus Catholic life score alone.

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 for Catholic colleges and high schools is the simple average of the pillar scores, shown when at least 3 of the 4 pillars are graded. For other colleges, the Catholic life score takes its place. Either one is the school’s Faith score.
Compass Recommended: a Faith score of 80 or more with at least three pillars graded and none below C; for non-Catholic colleges, a Catholic-life score of 80 or more. When the school has an Academic Excellence score, its Compass Score must also be 80 or more.
Honor Roll: an overall A with all four pillars graded and none below B, for Catholic colleges and high schools. Non-Catholic colleges with an A in Catholic life receive the separate Campus Ministry Honor Roll.
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 (Ratio)

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.

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 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 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 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 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 score	$2,500	$30,000	College Scorecard (INEXPFTE), from IPEDS Finance

Catholic high schools

Catholic high schools in the NCES Private School Survey. Fixed published scales. Federal data on private high schools is limited, so this score uses only two measures.

Measure	Weight	0 points at	100 points at	Source
Graduates going to four-year colleges Percent of the previous year's graduates who went on to a four-year college, as the school reported to the federal Private School Survey.	75% of score	60%	100%	NCES Private School Survey 2023-24 (P360, question 8D: graduates of the previous year who went to four-year colleges)
Students per teacher Students per full-time-equivalent teacher.	25% of score	20 students per teacher	8 students per teacher	NCES Private School Survey 2023-24 (STTCH_RT)

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 (for high schools, the college-going rate). Otherwise it is “Not enough information.”
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

Catholic college faith scorecard

Applies to: Colleges whose IPEDS religious affiliation is Roman Catholic (and verified Catholic colleges not in IPEDS).

Sacramental life

How readily students can attend Mass, go to confession, pray before the Blessed Sacrament, and find a priest.

Basis: Ex Corde Ecclesiae §39 asks that Catholic members of a university community be "encouraged to participate in the celebration of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist"; General Norms Art. 6 §2 calls for "a sufficient number of qualified people—priests, religious, and lay persons" in pastoral ministry.

Sacramental life indicators and points
Code	Indicator	Findings and points
S1	Weekday Mass on campus during the academic year	Every weekday (5 or more weekdays): 20 3–4 weekdays: 13 1–2 weekdays: 6 No weekday Mass on campus: 0
S2	Sunday Mass on campus (including Saturday vigil)	Two or more weekend Masses: 15 One weekend Mass: 10 No weekend Mass on campus: 0
S3	Scheduled confession on campus	Three or more scheduled times per week: 20 One or two scheduled times per week: 13 Less than weekly, or by appointment only: 5 Not offered on campus: 0
S4	Eucharistic adoration	Every weekday or more often, or perpetual adoration: 15 Weekly scheduled adoration: 10 Occasional (monthly or seasonal): 5 Not offered: 0
S5	Priests serving students	At least one full-time priest chaplain (or a resident community of priests serving campus ministry): 15 Part-time or visiting priest: 8 No priest identified in campus ministry: 0
S6	Chapel open for prayer on campus	Yes: 5 No: 0
S7	Published weekly schedule of Mass, confession, and adoration Computed automatically from the verified Mass, confession, and adoration times listed on this page (each day a time is offered counts once)	30 or more times a week: 10 20 to 29 times a week: 8 12 to 19 times a week: 6 6 to 11 times a week: 4 1 to 5 times a week: 2

Theology and core curriculum

What every undergraduate must study in theology and philosophy, and how the core draws on the Catholic intellectual tradition.

Basis: Ex Corde Ecclesiae §19 says "every Catholic University should have a faculty, or at least a chair, of theology"; §20 describes "a careful and thorough study of philosophy and theology" that helps students "acquire an organic vision of reality."

Theology and core curriculum indicators and points
Code	Indicator	Findings and points
T1	Theology or religious studies courses required of all bachelor's students	Three or more courses: 25 Two courses: 18 One course: 9 None required: 0
T2	Required theology includes explicitly Catholic content (Scripture, Catholic tradition, sacraments)	At least one required course is explicitly Catholic theology: 15 Catholic theology is one option among several: 8 The requirement can be met with no Catholic theology content: 0
T3	Philosophy courses required of all bachelor's students	Three or more courses: 25 Two courses: 18 One course: 9 None required: 0
T4	Core curriculum explicitly draws on the Catholic intellectual tradition	Yes, stated in the catalog or core description: 15 No: 0
T5	Theology or religious studies major offered	Yes: 10 No majors: every student follows one curriculum with substantial required theology: 10 No: 0
T6	Publicly affirms Ex Corde Ecclesiae in mission or governance documents	Yes: 10 No: 0

Campus culture and residence life

The reach of campus ministry, retreats and student faith groups, and the residence-hall policies many families ask about.

Basis: General Norms Art. 6 §1: a Catholic university "is to promote the pastoral care of all members of the university community"; Art. 2 §4: "Catholic teaching and discipline are to influence all university activities, while the freedom of conscience of each person is to be fully respected." Residence policies are reported factually and carry 20 of this pillar's 100 points.

Campus culture and residence life indicators and points
Code	Indicator	Findings and points
C1	Campus ministry staffing (chaplains, ministers, and professional staff)	Five or more: 20 Two to four: 13 One: 6 No campus ministry staff: 0
C2	Retreats offered to students each year	Four or more distinct retreats: 20 One to three: 12 None: 0
C3	Catholic student organizations and faith-formation groups	Three or more: 15 One or two: 8 None: 0
C4	Single-sex residence options	Single-sex residence halls available: 10 Single-sex floors or wings only: 6 Coed housing only: 0
C5	Overnight guest policy in residence halls	Overnight guests of the opposite sex not permitted: 10 Visitation hours or guest limits apply: 5 No visitation restrictions: 0
C6	Faith life in residence halls (hall chaplains, hall Masses, or faith-based living communities)	Yes: 15 No: 0
C7	Office or senior officer for mission and Catholic identity	Yes: 10 No: 0

Service and Catholic social teaching

Service programs, how Catholic social teaching enters the curriculum, and both pro-life and justice work tied to the mission.

Basis: Ex Corde Ecclesiae §34: "The Christian spirit of service to others for the promotion of social justice is of particular importance for each Catholic University." Pro-life engagement and other justice and solidarity work carry equal weight in this pillar.

Service and Catholic social teaching indicators and points
Code	Indicator	Findings and points
V1	Service or volunteer center	Yes: 15 No: 0
V2	Service-learning or community engagement in the curriculum	Required of all students: 20 Available (courses or programs): 10 None: 0
V3	Catholic social teaching in the curriculum (course, minor, center, or core requirement)	Part of the required core: 20 Offered (course, minor, or center): 12 None: 0
V4	Pro-life engagement (student pro-life group, support for pregnant and parenting students, or institutional initiatives)	Two or more: 15 One: 8 None: 0
V5	Justice and solidarity programs (immersion trips, poverty, migration, or care-for-creation initiatives)	Two or more: 15 One: 8 None: 0
V6	Service explicitly rooted in the Catholic mission (run with campus ministry or the mission office, or framed by Catholic social teaching)	Yes: 15 No: 0

Catholic life on campus

Applies to: Colleges that are not Catholic institutions (public, private secular, and other religious affiliations).

Catholic life on campus

Whether a Catholic student will find a campus ministry or Catholic center, a priest, the sacraments, Catholic friends, and a parish nearby.

Basis: Code of Canon Law can. 813: the diocesan bishop "is to make provision that at universities, even non-Catholic ones, there are Catholic university centers which give assistance, especially spiritual assistance, to youth."

Catholic life on campus indicators and points
Code	Indicator	Findings and points
L1	Catholic campus ministry serving this campus (Catholic center, campus ministry, or chaplaincy) Required for a grade	Yes: 15 No: 0
L2	Dedicated Catholic center or chapel on or next to campus	Yes: 10 No: 0
L3	Priest chaplain assigned to campus ministry	Full-time priest chaplain: 15 Part-time or shared priest: 8 No priest assigned: 0
L4	Weekday Mass at the campus ministry	Every weekday (5 or more weekdays): 12 1–4 weekdays: 6 None: 0
L5	Sunday Mass at the campus ministry or a campus chapel	Two or more weekend Masses: 8 One weekend Mass: 5 None (students attend local parishes): 0
L6	Scheduled confession at the campus ministry	Weekly or more often: 10 Less than weekly, or by appointment: 4 None: 0
L7	Catholic student groups and missionary outreach (e.g., FOCUS, Saint Paul's Outreach, Knights of Columbus, Bible studies)	Two or more: 10 One: 5 None: 0
L8	Formation programs (retreats, OCIA/RCIA, service, small groups)	Two or more kinds: 5 One kind: 3 None: 0
L9	Catholic church within walking distance (computed from OpenStreetMap) Computed automatically from OpenStreetMap church locations	Within 1 mile of campus: 5 Within 3 miles: 3 None mapped within 3 miles: 0
L10	Published weekly schedule of Mass, confession, and adoration Computed automatically from the verified Mass, confession, and adoration times listed on this page (each day a time is offered counts once)	30 or more times a week: 10 20 to 29 times a week: 8 12 to 19 times a week: 6 6 to 11 times a week: 4 1 to 5 times a week: 2

Catholic high school faith scorecard

Applies to: Catholic high schools in the NCES Private School Survey.

Sacramental life

School Masses, daily Mass, confession, adoration, and a priest who serves students.

Basis: Canon 794 §1 describes the Church's mission of "assisting persons so that they are able to reach the fullness of the Christian life"; Ex Corde Ecclesiae §39 speaks of encouraging participation "in the celebration of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist."

Sacramental life indicators and points
Code	Indicator	Findings and points
HS1	All-school or class Masses during the school year	Weekly: 30 Monthly: 20 A few times a year: 10 None: 0
HS2	Daily Mass available to students on campus	Yes: 15 No: 0
HS3	Confession offered to students during the school year	Monthly or more often: 20 Seasonally (Advent, Lent) or a few times a year: 12 Not offered: 0
HS4	Eucharistic adoration offered	Regularly (monthly or more): 15 Occasionally: 8 Not offered: 0
HS5	Priest chaplain serving the school	Yes: 20 Visiting or shared priest: 10 No: 0

Theology and curriculum

How many years of theology students take, and how the curriculum presents the faith.

Basis: Canon 803 §2: "The instruction and education in a Catholic school must be grounded in the principles of Catholic doctrine." The USCCB's Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework (2008) sets out a high school theology sequence used by many dioceses.

Theology and curriculum indicators and points
Code	Indicator	Findings and points
HT1	Years of theology or religion required	Four years: 40 Three years: 25 Two years: 15 One year: 8 None: 0
HT2	Theology courses follow the USCCB Curriculum Framework	Yes: 25 No: 0
HT3	Philosophy, apologetics, or ethics course offered	Yes: 15 No: 0
HT4	Faith integrated across the curriculum (stated in the program of studies or mission)	Yes: 20 No: 0

Campus culture

Retreats, campus ministry, faith-based clubs, and daily prayer.

Basis: Canon 795: "true education must strive for complete formation of the human person."

Campus culture indicators and points
Code	Indicator	Findings and points
HC1	Retreats	A retreat for every grade: 30 Retreats for some grades: 18 None: 0
HC2	Campus ministry staff	Two or more: 25 One: 15 None: 0
HC3	Faith-based student groups or clubs	Two or more: 20 One: 10 None: 0
HC4	Daily prayer and liturgical life built into the school day	Yes: 25 No: 0

Service and Catholic social teaching

Required service, Catholic social teaching in class, and both pro-life and justice work.

Basis: Canon 795 asks that young people be "formed to participate actively in social life." Pro-life engagement and other justice and solidarity work carry equal weight in this pillar.

Service and Catholic social teaching indicators and points
Code	Indicator	Findings and points
HV1	Required service hours	40 or more hours over four years: 35 Fewer than 40 hours: 20 No requirement: 0
HV2	Catholic social teaching taught in theology courses	Yes: 25 No: 0
HV3	Pro-life engagement (club, March for Life, or similar)	Yes: 20 No: 0
HV4	Justice and solidarity programs (immersions, service trips, justice clubs)	Yes: 20 No: 0

Rubric change log

Version 1.0 (Oct. 7, 2026): First published rubric.
Version 1.1 (Oct. 8, 2026): Added a computed indicator, Published weekly schedule (S7 for Catholic colleges, L10 for other colleges), worth 10 points. It counts the weekly Mass, confession, and adoration times documented from official pages, so ministries with many opportunities are distinguished from those meeting the minimum. To make room: weekday Mass (S1) went from 25 to 20 points, chapel open for prayer (S6) from 10 to 5, campus ministry present (L1) from 20 to 15, weekday Mass (L4) from 15 to 12, and Sunday Mass (L5) from 10 to 8. Applied to every school at once.
Version 1.2 (Oct. 12, 2026): Added a Catholic Life Score for every Catholic college, so one ranking can compare campus Catholic life across all colleges. It uses the life scorecard's L1-L10 and the same scoring code; L1-L8 are read from each Catholic college's already-verified college-scorecard indicators (see life_from_college). The Compass Score and faith scores of Catholic colleges are unchanged.

Evidence and verification

Allowed sources: the school’s own website, academic catalog, and student handbook; the official site of its campus ministry or Catholic center; official parish and diocese sites; an organization’s statement about its own work (for example, FOCUS listing the campuses it serves); and U.S. government data.
Not used: news outlets, blogs, social media, Wikipedia, review sites, other college guides, and third-party directories such as Mass-time aggregators.
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.

Mass and confession times

Times come only from official parish, chaplaincy, or school pages. They are labeled “Confirm with the parish,” because schedules change with seasons, holidays, and breaks.

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 Catholic colleges with a Faith grade of B or better, ordered by this index.

Nearby churches

Catholic churches near each campus come from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License). They include Latin and Eastern Catholic churches and exclude churches not in communion with Rome. OpenStreetMap is incomplete, so a missing church does not mean there is none. For non-Catholic colleges, one indicator (5 of 100 points) reflects whether a Catholic church is mapped within 1 or 3 miles.

Which schools are included

Colleges: every currently active, degree-granting U.S. institution in IPEDS (2024–25) that is accredited, meaning it participates in federal student aid or holds a current institutional accreditation in the Department of Education’s DAPIP database. A few accredited Catholic colleges that don’t report to IPEDS are added by hand, with sources.
Catholic colleges: those reporting a Roman Catholic affiliation to IPEDS. Seminaries and graduate-only schools are listed and flagged, but excluded from undergraduate rankings.
Catholic high schools: schools in the NCES Private School Survey (2023–24) identified as Catholic whose highest grade is 12, including combined K–12 schools.
Research order: Catholic colleges first; for other colleges, the largest campuses by on-campus enrollment first; then high schools. Unresearched schools 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.