Academic Profile

The Mission

Cathedral, a Catholic college preparatory high school, provides to a diverse group of students opportunities for spiritual, intellectual, social, emotional and physical growth through service and academic excellence.

Course Description Guide

Academic Profile

Accreditation

Cathedral is accredited by the state of Indiana and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States.

Enrollment

1255 students in Grades 9 through 12 from 11 counties.  Students attended approximately 130 different schools before entering Cathedral.

Faculty

Some 95 faculty members have an average of more than 15 years of teaching experience, with the majority holding master's degrees.  With a student-teacher ratio of 13:1, a highly personalized approach to learning is maintained.

Academics

There are 11 academic departments providing more than 188 course offerings.  Three instructional levels are offered-honors, academic and college preparatory-as well as honors-level independent study in nearly all disciplines.  A special emphasis is placed on technology in the classroom.  Honors and academic-level English students are required to take two years of foreign language (as listed below).  College preparatory English students and students enrolled in the Language Support Program are not required to meet the foreign language requirement, except in unusual circumstances.

The Language Support Program is available to meet the special needs of the bright, dyslexic student preparing for college entrance.  In this program, courses are taught at the academic level of instruction with appropriate accommodations.

Students are required to obtain the following 49 credits (one credit equals the successful completion of one semester of course work):

• Biology 2
• Composition 1
• Economics 1
• English 8
• Fine Arts 2
• Foreign Language 4
• Geography 1
• Government 1
• Health Education 1
• Mathematics 6
• Modern Technology 1
• Other Electives 3
• Physical Education 1
• Religious Studies 8
• Science Electives 4
• Social Studies Electives 2
• Speech or Debate 1
• U.S. History 2

Post-Secondary Admission Testing Program:
Test Data for 2008-09:
SAT

Average Critical Reading: 562

Average Math: 565

Average Writing: 554

ACT
Composite Average: 24.8

AP Exams   
313 students took 668 Advanced Placement tests.  

IB Exams   
196 exams were given to diploma and certified candidates -- 83 percent scored a 4 or higher. In its three years of existence at Cathedral, a total of 20 students have received the IB diploma. 

Courses Offered in Core Subjects
Students are encouraged to design coursework after Indiana's Core 40 or Academic Honors programs.

English
AP Language & Composition
AP Literature & Composition
English 11, IB
Composition
Composition (Advanced)
Creative Writing
Debate
Debate (Advanced)
Drama in Literature
English (9, 10, 11, 12)
English Literature/Shakespeare
Ethnic Literature
Etymology
Journalism 1 (Introduction to Newspaper or Introduction to Yearbook)
Journalism 2 (Newspaper or Yearbook)
Speech
Study Skills
Themes in Ethnic Literature
Themes in Sports Literature
Themes in Women in Literature

World Languages
French (I, II, III (IB), IV (IB), AP French V)
German (I, II, III (IB), IV (IB), AP German V)
Latin (I, II, III (IB), IV (IB), AP Latin V)
Spanish (I, II, III (IB), IV (IB), AP Spanish V)

Mathematics
AP Calculus AB
AP Calculus BC
AP Statistics
Mathematical Studies SL, IB
Mathematics SL, IB
Algebra (I, II)
Discrete Mathematics
Geometry
Pre-Algebra
Pre-Calculus
Probability & Statistics
Problem Solving
Trigonometry

Science
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
Biology, IB
Chemistry, IB
Physics, IB
Anatomy & Physiology I & II
Astronomy, Biology
Biology (Advanced)
Botany
Chemistry
Earth/Space Science
Environmental Science
Organic Chemistry
Physics
Scientific Research
Zoology

Social Studies
AP United States History Seminar
AP U.S. Government & Politics
AP Psychology
AP Human Geography
AP Microeconomics
AP World History
Geography, IB
History of the Americas, IB
Psychology, IB
International Relations
Drug & Alcohol Issues
Economics
Geography and History of the World
Government
Law Education
Modern World Civilization
Psychology
Sociology
United States History
World History
World History and Civilization
Topics in Social Science

Grading Scale and GPA
The grade point average is computed by dividing the total grade points each semester by the number of classes taken which carry grade points. Courses not taken at Cathedral High School are not included in this computation.  Honors courses, which are significantly more demanding, are weighted (see below).

As of Fall 2005, Cathedral High School does NOT rank its students.

College Selection                 

Approximately 100 percent of the students from the class of 2008 were accepted to colleges and universities across the nation. Those schools include:
Auburn University
Ball State University
Bellarmine University
Beloit College
Boston College
Boston University
Bowling Green State University
Butler University
Case Western Reserve University
Coastal Carolina University
College of Charleston
College of Mount St. Joseph's
Creighton University
Dartmouth College
DePaul University
DePauw University
Denison University
Dickinson
Drake University
Duquesne University
Earlham College
Elon University
Fairfield University 
Ferris State University
Florida A & M University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida State University
Fordham University
Franklin College
George Washington University
Georgetown College
Georgetown University
Hampton University
Hanover College
Holy Cross College
Howard University
Indiana State University
Indiana University
Indiana University/ Purdue University      
Indiana Wesleyan University
Iowa State University
Ivy Tech State College
Jackson State University
Jacksonville State University
John Carroll University
Johnson & Wales University
Kalamazoo College
Lake Forest College
Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University of Chicago
Manchester College
Marian College
Marquette University
Miami University (OH)
Michigan State University    
Millikin University
New York University
Northwestern University
Occidental College
Ohio State University
Pepperdine University
Purdue University
Quincy University
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
St. Joseph's College
St. Louis University
St. Mary's College of Notre Dame
St. Xavier University
School of the Art Institute of Indy
Southern University Baton Rouge
Spelman College
Syracuse University
Tennessee State University
Thomas More College
Transylvania University
Tri-State University
Tulane University
United States Military Academy
University of Alabama
University of Arizona
University of Arkansas
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Dayton
University of Evansville
University of Florida
University of Illinois at Urbana
University of Indianapolis
University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
University of Miami - Florida
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Mississippi
University of Missouri-Columbia
University of Notre Dame
University of Pittsburgh
University of Richmond
University of St. Francis
University of San Diego
University of South Florida
University of Southern Indiana
University of Tampa
University of Tennessee Knoxville
Valparaiso University
Vanderbilt University
Villanova University
Vincennes University
Wabash College
Washington and Lee University
Washington University - St. Louis
Western Kentucky University
Wilmington College
Wittenberg University
Xavier University