Local schools have received mixed reviews from the Fraser Institute’s report card on Ontario’s elementary schools, released last week.
The annual report card rates and ranks 2,778 English and French, public and separate elementary schools from across Ontario.
The foundation of the report card is an overall rating of each school’s academic performance for 2008. Using data on student results provided by Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), each school is rated on a scale from zero to 10.
Each school’s rating is based on nine indicators of school performance, including reading, writing, and mathematics tests for grades 3 and 6; and the percentage of EQAO assessments that did not meet the provincial standard.
This annual report card is an accessible public document that allows anyone to compare the performance of individual schools.
Although school boards differ in their opinions about the significance of the report, parents often use the report card as an indicator of how their child’s school is doing academically.
“Parents have repeatedly shown they value the ability to track the performance of their child’s school and compare it to other schools,” said Peter Cowley, Fraser Institute director of school performance studies.
“Our report card allows parents to quickly and easily determine if their child’s school is improving or worsening academically.” Cowley explained one purpose of the report card is encouraging schools to improve.
“Using the report card to compare a private school in a well-off Greater Toronto neighbourhood to a small, rural public school … may not be useful,” he said. “But comparing schools that have similar characteristics within the same community can be important for parents and educators alike.”
The ranking – out of 10 – for schools within Wellington County is as follows:
– Alma Public, 7.6;
– Drayton Heights, 7.5;
– Brisbane Public, 7.3;
– Elora Public, 7.2;
– St. John Brebeuf, 6.9;
– Salem Public, 6.7;
– Aberfoyle Public, 6.6;
– Erin Public, 6.2;
– John Black Public, 6.2;
– Arthur Public, 6.1;
– Palmerston Public, 5.6;
– J.D. Hogarth, 5.5;
– Maryborough, 5.5;
– St. Mary, Mt. Forest, 5.5;
– James McQueen, 5.4;
– Victoria Cross, 5.4;
– Rockwood, 5.3;
– Victoria Terrace, 5.3;
– St. Mary, Elora, 5.1;
– Ross R. MacKay, 4.6;
– St. John, 3.9;
– St. Joseph, 3.7; and
– Centre Peel, 2.4.
For more information on the 2008 Report Card, visit www.fraserinstitute.org.
