Travis Dosser
6/17/2012
School is almost out for summer, and with the end of the year comes report cards, and not just for students.
The Fraser Institute is out with its annual report card on High Schools in the province and it points to some troubling data.
Peter Cowley, the author of the report card says 19 per cent of provincial exams that were written in 2011 received a failing grade, the highest failure rate in the last five years.
"That means we've got to be concerned," Cowley explained. "I mean, imagine any kind of process in which 19 per cent, nearly 1 in 5, of the outputs, in this case test results, are failed. That's way too high."
He also points out Edmonton has some catching up to do.
"No surprises when it comes to which city in the province is doing best," Cowley commented. "Calgary came away with nine of the top 20 schools, Edmonton only two."
Cowley also pointed out most of the schools that the report says are fastest improving are public schools.
"You don't have to be a school in a rich neighbourhood to improve, you don't have to be a high performing school to begin with to improve," explained Cowley. "It doesn't matter whether you're a Catholic school or a private school or a public school or a charter school, whatever it might be, every school can improve."
The report card says Old Scona shares the top spot in the province with two Calgary schools holding strong at a perfect 10, a rating it's shared with Rundle College in Calgary over the past five years.
The only other Edmonton school to make the top 20 was Archbishop MacDonald. It took the sixth spot with a 9.1 rating, that's an improvement from its five year average of 8.8.
The only other Edmonton area schools to make the top 20 were Ste Marguerite d'Youville, a school in St. Albert. It took seventh in the rankings with a 9.0, that school also showed improvement from its 5-year average of 8.8.
Strathcona Christian in Sherwood Park shares the 18th spot on the list with an 8.2 rating, climbing from its 5-year average of 8.0.
Screenshots of the Fraser Institute Report Card
Listed the fastest improving schools in the province are St. Gabriel Cyber and Ste Marguerite d'Youville both in St. Albert, Archbishop O'Leary in Edmonton and Strathcona Christian in Sherwood Park all made the list.
The report card collects results from province wide testing, grade-to-grade transition rates and other data from 276 public, private, separate and charter schools in the province to decide the rankings. (twd)
On the Net:
Fraser Institute Report Card
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