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Fraser Institute annual secondary school report card

The Fraser Institute
By The Fraser Institute
June 27th, 2019

The Fraser Institute today released its Report Card on British Columbia’s Secondary Schools, the most easily accessible tool for parents to compare the academic performance of their children’s schools.

This year’s Report Card ranks 251 public and independent secondary schools based on seven academic indicators using student results from annual provincewide exams, grade-to-grade transition rates, and graduation rates.

Of the top 53 schools in the ranking (seven were tied for 47th) 29 are independent schools and 24 are public schools. They’re located in 26 different cities and towns across the province, including Revelstoke, Summerland, Agassiz, Hope, and Duncan.

In the Kootenay region, Fernie was 30th, Grand Forks 32nd, David Thompson in Invermere 36th, Mount Sentinel in South Slocan 46th, J. Lloyd Crowe in Trail 54th, L.V. Rogers in Nelson 70th, Mount Baker in Cranbrook 79th, Selkirk in Kimberley 117th, Stanley Humphries in Castlegar 175th and Prince Charles in Creston 206th.

“All too often, we hear excuses that public schools can’t compete with independent schools because of the communities and students that they serve, but that’s just not true—every school can improve and strive to rank higher than the year before,” said Angela MacLeod, a Fraser Institute senior policy analyst.

This year, 36 schools showed statistically significant declines in performance over the past four years, and 33 showed statistically significant improvement.

Notably, of the top 10 fastest-improving schools — regardless of rank — seven are located outside the Greater Vancouver Area in Agassiz, Chilliwack, Invermere, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Terrace and 100 Mile House. In fact, none are in the City of Vancouver.

“This Report Card proves that improvement is possible in every corner of the province, in every type of school serving every type of student,” MacLeod said.

“Parents should use this Report Card every year to assess how their child’s school is doing, and when necessary, ask the principal how he or she plans to turn things around.”

For the complete results on all ranked schools, and to easily compare the performance of different schools, visit www.compareschoolrankings.org.

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