Mount Elizabeth Middle Secondary School has been rated among the fastest improving schools in the province by the Fraser Institute.
The Vancouver-based think tank publishes School Report Cards annually, ranking the academic performance of B.C. schools based on publicly available results of standardized testing mandated administered by the provinces.
The Institute released its contentious report card Wednesday, ranking 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 the ire of the B.C. Teacher’s Federation Association for decades.
However, Fraser Institute’s senior policy analyst Angela MacLeod said in this year’s calculations, seven of the top 10 fastest improving are outside of Metro Vancouver.
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Other cities with schools to make the list were Terrace, Prince Rupert, Chilliwack, Invermere, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Delta and 100 Mile House.
Based on calculations Agassiz’s sole high school, Agassiz Elem-Secondary, improved the greatest, from a rating of 4.6 out of 10 in 2014, to an 8.6 in 2018.
“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 MacLeod.
To view the full report, click here.
– with reporting by Gerry Leibel
