Students are doing very well at Lake Cowichan Secondary School; something principal Peter Jory knew long before the results of the controversial Fraser Institute secondary school rankings were released.
The school’s 100 per cent graduation rate over the past two years exemplified the school’s success long before the report came out, he said.
“It’s a great accomplishment for kids, because they’re coming from all spots on the continuum,” Jory said. “It’s about keeping the door open, and giving them that extra help.”
Although Jory said that it’ll be hard to keep up with the annual 100 per cent graduation rate, he’s confident that the school will remain in the high 90s, thanks to local teachers’ excellent instruction, mixed with a healthy dose of old-fashioned nagging.
In the Fraser Institute’s recently-released 2010 ranking of secondary schools, Lake Cowichan Secondary School received one of the largest upswings, jumping from a rating 4.8 to 5.9 out of 10.
A number of things factor into this ranking, but it does not include extracurricular activities or elective classes.
Instead, the ranking relies heavily on English 10, Math 10, Science 10, Socials 11, and English 12 provincial examination marks.
“School’s a lot of things,” Jory said, of the narrow approach the Fraser Institute has chosen to take, in ranking schools.
The school’s hockey program and other sports activities, the ongoing greenhouse upgrades, an upcoming drama production, and various other school functions; none of it factors into the ranking.
Although what the Fraser Institute measures is important, Jory said, “It’s not the whole picture.”
In all, the principal said that, although the Fraser Institute ranking is very far from perfect, it is a good sign to see LCSS ranking as high as it is.
One of the Fraser Institute’s measurement tools – the school versus exam mark difference – sticks out as a good sign.
The low number in this area means teachers are assessing students based on their understanding of the material.
“It’s about interacting with the student, rather than them doing the work, handing it in, and putting a number on that,” Jory said. “We’ve done a lot of work on assessment for learning.”
Although Jory expects the Fraser Institute Report will rank the school highly again, next year, it’s not the end all be all goal of the school’s faculty.
“It’s all about giving every single student the best chance to go where they need to go,” Jory said, of education. “If we’ve done that, we’re successful.”
