Christian schools are sometimes criticized for catering to an elite group of students. These students are said to be academically, financially, and socially better off than the average public school child.
Christian schools can discriminate in admitting students.
Thus, it is claimed, the consistently higher scores achieved by these students is simply a result of selecting better students to begin with. This is a serious charge which deserves a serious answer. Most Christian schools do not screen students on an academic basis except in order to determine whether there are learning disabilities or handicaps which might be beyond the resources of the school. Also, many students transfer to a Christian school because they are already experiencing difficulties. It is therefore likely that Christian schools have an above average number of students with learning problems.