Accreditations & Distinctions
Accreditations
St. Brendan School is accredited by the Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Accreditation by these organizations requires a rigorous, comprehensive evaluation process that includes a detailed self-study and a visit by a committee of educators from across the Western United States. St. Brendan School’s last self-study was in 2019 and the school was awarded a full six- year term for accreditation.
Distinctions
St. Brendan School prides itself on its excellent academic record and its exceptional preparation of its students for the rigors of high school and college. Our students consistently excel on standardized tests and exceed the expectations of the many institutions of higher learning to which they matriculate.
Four times a year, the STAR Test is given to assess where a student is in his/her learning and progress throughout the school year. At St. Brendan, the most important use of these tests is to track students’ growth from year to year.
Trends consistently indicate that with each passing year, our students out-perform their grade levels by an ever-increasing margin, such that by the time students get to eighth grade many are performing at the level of college freshmen. In other words, the longer a student is at St. Brendan School, the more exponential growth he or she experiences. By the eighth grade, our students' average standardized test scores are among the top in the nation.
St. Brendan 5th and 8th graders take the National Catholic Education Association Assessment of Catholic Religious Education (NCEA ACRE) test in February of each year. ACRE is a method of evaluating how well students are absorbing their faith. Results of this assessment are compared to a national profile of students. An analysis of outcomes from the 2021-2022 testing confirms that our students performed on par with peers in Catholic schools across the nation.
Our students frequently distinguish themselves and our school at various competitions and are often recognized by the wider education community for their achievements. Distinctions include:
- Placements in local, regional, and state-wide science fairs
- Placement in local, regional and state-wide geography bees
- Championship wins across all CYO athletics programs
Approximately 80% of our students are accepted to San Francisco high schools with distinctions and honors, including:
Sacred Heart Cathedral
- Acceptance in the De Paul Scholar Program
- Acceptance in the Inquiry and Innovation (i2) Program
St. Ignatius College Preparatory
- Acceptance with Distinction
- Acceptance with Honors
Archbishop Riordan High School
- Acceptance to the St. Francis Scholar Program
- Acceptance to the Honors Engineering Program
- Acceptance with Honors
