The role of Christian day schools in meeting changing educational and social needs is evaluated and educational trends since the 1960s are reviewed. Among the solutions proposed to remedy alleged educational ills of the 1960s (including that schools were simultaneously too liberal, racist, permissive, authoritarian, and irrelevant) were free schools, curriculum reform, changes in school government, and interdenominational schools. Among these alternatives, Christian day schools have become the fastest growing segment of formal education. Estimates indicate that there are between five and six thousand recently established Christian schools in the United States serving approximately 950,000 students. Reasons for the proliferation of Christian schools include disenchantment among Protestants regarding public schooling, alienation among evangelical Protestants from the American social order, and a desire for schools which stress discipline, are based on a conservative Christian perspective, and recognize the scriptures as the final authority for value judgments. Many questions relating to the quality and nature of the education provided by Christian day schools must be answered before the schools can be properly assessed. These questions include: How will graduates of Christian schools fare in society?; To what extent will Christian schools be standardized with regard to academic and enrollment procedures?; and Will evangelical Protestants be able to afford both public and parochial schools? (DB)