Vauxhall schools place high in annual Fraser Institute rankings

The Fraser Institute has released its annual rankings of Alberta high schools and elementary schools, allowing parents to compare the academic performance of schools across the province.

“The Report Cards offer parents information they can’t easily get anywhere else, about how their child’s school performs and how it compares to other schools in Alberta,” said Angela MacLeod, a senior policy analyst at the Fraser Institute.

This year, the Report Card on Alberta’s Elementary Schools ranked 852 public, Catholic, independent and charter schools based on eight academic indicators derived from province-wide test results. Balwin School, a public school in Edmonton, is the fastest-improving elementary school in the province (rising from a score of zero out of 10 in 2014 to 4.5 in 2018) despite a 42.2 per cent English-as-a-second-language (ESL) population and 25.5 per cent of students with special needs.

Of the schools examined locally, Barnwell School was tops with a current ranking of 338 and a 2017-2018 rating of 6.6.

Vauxhall Elementary School would come in second, with a current ranking of 416, a ranking of 465 out of 664 in the past five years, and a 2017-2018 rating of 6.2, up from 5.4 in the past five years.

Taber Christian Alternative School would come in third with a current ranking of 476, a ranking of 266 out of 664 in the past five years, and a 2017-2018 rating of 5.9, down from 6.5 in the past five years.

Taber’s Central School was fourth with a current ranking of 603, a ranking of 515 out of 664 in the past five years, and a 2017-2018 rating of 5.2, up from 5.1 in the past five years.

Tween Valley Christian School was fifth with a current ranking of 744, a ranking of 592 out of 664 in the past five years, and a 2017-2018 rating of 4.1, down from 4.4 in the past five years.

Chamberlain School in Grassy Lake was sixth with a current ranking of 779 and a 2017-2018 rating of 3.6.

This year’s Report Card on Alberta’s Secondary Schools ranked 262 public, independent, Catholic and charter schools based on nine academic indicators generated from Grade 12 province-wide testing, grade-to-grade transition and graduation rates.

Of the high schools examined locally, Vauxhall High School was on top with a current ranking of 17, a ranking of 20 out of 217 in the past five years, and a 2017-2018 rating of 8.4, up from 7.9 in the past five years.

W.R. Myers High School in Taber would come in second with a current ranking of 52, a ranking of 31 out of 217 in the past five years, and a 2017-2018 rating of 7.2, down from 7.6 in the past five years.

Taber’s St. Mary School was third with a current ranking of 127, a ranking of 131 out of 217 in the past five years, and a 2017-2018 rating of 6.1, up from 5.9 in the past five years.

“We often hear excuses in Alberta that schools can’t improve academic performance because of the communities and students they serve, but the evidence suggests otherwise,” MacLeod said.

For the complete results on all ranked schools and to compare the performance of different schools, please visit http://www.compareschoolrankings.org.

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