Report card season is coming, and the Fraser Institute has released it controversial annual ranking of B.C. elementary schools.
The report card ranks 955 public and private elementary schools based on 10 academic indicators that are derived from the province-wide Foundation Skills Assessment results, according to a new release issued Thursday.
The ranking is often criticized for appearing to favour private schools and for only basing the rankings of the standardized tests, but the think tank believes it provides valuable information.
“The report card offers parents information they can’t easily get anywhere else, about how their child’s school performs over time and compares to other schools in B.C.,” said senior policy analyst Angela MacLeod.
READ MORE: B.C. school district wants an end to public circulation of test scores
Similar to last year’s trend, 14 out of 20 improved schools in the province were public.
The only public school to make this year’s top 10 list was Ecole Cedardale in West Vancouver, with a perfect score out of 10. Others include Corpus Christi Elementary and Crofton House School in Vancouver, and Diamond Elementary in Surrey. All three are independent.
The fastest improving school was Armstrong Elementary in Armstrong, B.C., improving its score from 1.9 out of 10 in 2014 to 6.1 in 2018. Maria Montessori in Victoria rose from 7.3 to 9.5 over the same period, despite 20 per cent of its students having special needs.
“We often hear excuses in B.C. that schools can’t improve student performance because of the communities and students they serve, but the evidence suggests otherwise,” MacLeod said.
The complete list of school rankings can be found here.
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