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An Edmonton Catholic school trustee has proposed spending $25,000 to study whether Catholic school graduates are “evangelized.”

John Acheson proposed Tuesday that the board partner with St. Joseph College at the University of Alberta to develop a method to test the faith of district graduates.

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“It’s absolutely essential in my mind that this is something we must engage in,” Acheson told the board at Tuesday’s meeting.

It’s important to demonstrate to the Catholic community the district’s school programs are “creating disciples of Jesus,” his written proposal said.

Acheson wants academics to develop a method of testing or evaluating the success of the board’s evangelization mission, then perform a pilot on Edmonton Catholic graduates.

An unrelated report presented to the board Tuesday said a survey found 27 per cent of district high school students did not believe their religion classes made the Catholic faith meaningful to them. Twenty-four per cent of high school students said they disagreed with the statement: “What I learn in religion class helps make me a better person.”