Ranking Ontario’s Elementary Schools
Posted By: Rachel Kavanagh
Each year the Fraser Institute publishes its Report Card on Ontario’s elementary schools. The ranking is a reflection of the previous year’s testing results. The Report Card collects a variety of relevant, objective indicators of school performance into an easily accessible public document so anyone can analyze and compare the performance of individual schools.
The ranking is derived from an overall rating out of 10 on the school’s performance on nine indicators, all of which are derived from province-wide tests of reading, writing and mathematics skill that are developed and managed by the province’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO).
These particular set of indicators have been selected because they provide systematic insight into a school’s performance.
The act of publicly rating and ranking schools attracts attention, and this can provide motivation. Schools that perform well or show consistent improvement are applauded. Poorly performing schools generate concern, as do those whose performance is deteriorating. This inevitable attention provides an incentive for all those connected with a school to focus on student results.
The Report Card provides a valuable tool for parents looking to make a decision on whether to move to a different neighbourhood or stay where they are. Because it makes comparisons easy, it alerts parents to those nearby schools that appear to have more effective academic programs.
Families choosing a school for their children should seek to confirm the Report Card’s findings by visiting the school and interviewing teachers, school administrators, and other parents.
York Region has some of the best performing elementary schools in the province. Here are few from the Markham, Unionville and Stouffville communities.
Markham:
Rank: #22 School Name: Lincoln Alexander Score: 9.8
Rank: #44 School Name: ÉÉC Sainte-Marguerite-Bourgeoys Score: 9.4
Rank: #76 School Name: Donald Cousens Score: 9.1
Unionville:
Rank: #14 School Name: St. Justin Martyr Score: 9.9
Rank: #22 School Name: William Berczy Score: 9.8
Stouffville:
Rank: #231 School Name: Oscar Peterson Score: 8.3
Rank: #276 School Name: Barbara Reid Score: 8.2
To search nearby schools and their rankings on our website. Click here
To read the complete report click here
