B.C.’s largest city may be home to some of the province’s top secondary schools, but none have made Fraser Institute’s annual report card when it comes to ones that are fastest-improving.
The think-tank released its contentious report card Wednesday and ranks 251 schools in the province based on seven academic indicators including annual provincewide exams, grade-to-grade transition rates and graduation rates.
Typically, independent schools top the ranking and have drawn ire of the B.C. Teacher’s Federation Association for decades.
In this year’s calculations, seven of the top 10 fastest improving are outside of Metro Vancouver, said Angela MacLeod, Fraser Institute’s senior policy analyst.
Based on calculations, Agassiz’s sole high school improved the greatest, from a rating of 4.6 out of 10 in 2014 to an 8.6 in 2018.
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Other cities with schools to make the list were Chilliwack, Invermere, Surrey, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Maple Ridge, Delta, Terrace and 100 Mile House.
“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,” MacLeod said.
To view the full report, click here.
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