CORNWALL, Ontario – The Fraser Institute, a Canadian research think tank, has released its annual report ranking elementary schools in Ontario. While Rose-des-Vents ranked the best with a score of 7.8 out of 10, the average school ranking for Cornwall was 4.7.
Three of Cornwall’s elementary schools Rose-des-Vents, St. Anne’s and Marie-Tanguay rank in the top half of 2, 900 schools surveyed by the Fraser Institue at 7.8, 7.6 and 6.3 out of ten respectively.
There were 15 Cornwall schools included in total, including Akwesasne Mohawk School.
The bottom three ranked schools in Cornwall were Akwesasne Mohawk School at 2.6, Gladstone Public School at 2.3 and St. Columban’s at 2.0. Keep in mind that Gladstone Public closed earlier this year and the new Bridgewood Public was not included in the Fraser Institute’s rankings.
The scores are based primarily on the Education Quality and Accountability (EQAO) Office test scores that measure reading, writing and math for Grade 3 and 6 students every year.
The Fraser Institute says it uses this data to publicly rank schools to promote improvement.
“The act of publicly rating and ranking schools attracts attention, and this can provide motivation.,” the report reads. “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 Institute also says that its report presents real areas and indicators of improvement.
“It includes a variety of indicators, each of which reports results for an aspect of school performance that may be improved,” the report claims. “School administrators who are dedicated to their students’ academic success accept the Report Card as another source of opportunities for improvement.”
However, the Upper Canada School Board’s (UCDSB) Director of Education Stephen Sliwa disagrees with that assessment and the value of the report as a whole.
“There is no evidence to show that ranking schools improves student learning; nor does it offer a precise understanding of exactly where improvement efforts should be directed,” Sliwa said in a statement on the UCDSB website. “It is more accountable and useful to use data that measures achievement on a student-by-student basis. EQAO test results provide useful information on which to base strategies to improve our learning programs, but it is unfair and misleading to compare schools based only on these scores. Our school board and schools have adopted a vigorous improvement planning process based on provincial assessment results, and through surveys administered at the district and school level. These practices allow the board and our schools to direct attention and resources to student learning needs.”
One school in SD&G however ranked in the top 10 schools in the Province.
Laggan Public School, a UCDSB school, in Dalkeith scored a perfect 10 ranking.
“One of the highest ranked schools in the province is Laggan Public School in the small farming community of Dalkeith in Eastern Ontario,” said the Fraser Institute. “Laggan, which tied for first in the overall ranking, also achieved one of the highest average scores in math.”
