Fraser Institute's Alberta Elementary School Rankings Show Which Schools Are Improving, or Falling Behind in Academics

CALGARY, AB--(Marketwired - May 21, 2016) - The Fraser Institute today published its annual Alberta elementary school rankings, showing how schools have performed academically and which schools across the province have improved or fallen behind.

The Report Card on Alberta's Elementary Schools 2016 ranks 812 public, separate, francophone, private and charter schools based on seven academic indicators derived from provincewide test results.

"Our report card is the only objective, reliable tool that parents have to compare the academic performance of their child's school over time and to that of other schools in their community," said Peter Cowley, Fraser Institute director of school performance studies.

The data from the 2016 report card suggests that every school is capable of improvement regardless of the type of school, its location and the proportion of students with special needs or students in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs.

For example, one of the fastest improving schools in the province in 2015 -- based on analysis of its results during the most recent five years -- is St. Catherine Catholic Elementary/Junior High School, a separate school located in Edmonton. Despite having two-thirds of its students identified as ESL learners, St. Catherine's overall rating has steadily improved to 6.6 (out of 10) in 2015 from just 1.7 in 2011.

Another school Keeler, a public school in Calgary, also recorded a significant jump in its ratings since 2011. With 27 per cent of its students having special needs and 37 per cent of its students identified as ESL learners, the school earned a score of 4.0 in 2015 compared to 0.0 in 2011.

Of the ten fastest improving schools, six are in Edmonton.

"When parents see the report card's objective evidence that a school's results are consistently low or declining, they often become very effective advocates for improvement," Cowley said.

"If academic results at the school are not improving, the principal should answer the question, Why not?"

For detailed results of all 812 schools, go to www.compareschoolrankings.org where you can quickly see how a school performed over the past five years and how it compares to other schools.

Peter Cowley is available for media interviews, from Calgary, on Saturday and Sunday.

Top twenty fastest improving schools 2011-2015

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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org