Should Christians and Christian schools strive for top academic achievement?

What in the world are we doing by insisting on a rigorous curriculum and high academic achievement in Christian schools? Why do we teach school and demand high standards from our students? What are we trying to accomplish? Is the insistence on academic achievement biblical? Isn't a liberal arts education a Greco-Roman, classical idea and not a Christian one? Do we want our students to do something great with their lives or should we simply shelter them from an increasingly godless society?

Although specific Christian leaders and groups throughout the centuries — including believers in present day America — have distrusted and even despised higher learning, the overall biblical and historical evidence compels us to insist on the highest standards of education. It is important to remember that men such as Moses, Solomon, Daniel, and St. Paul were among the most learned men who received the absolute best educations available in their respective times, and that there is a persuasive Christian and biblical case supporting a rigorous education. The following three-fold argument supports the biblical and historical reasons for providing an academically demanding Christian education.