Fraser Institute Releases Annual Report Card on Ontario’s Elementary Schools – Greater Toronto Area Schools Dominate the Rankings
Friday, June 09, 2006
- Organization: Fraser Institute
Toronto, ON - The Fraser Institute today released the Report Card on Ontario's Elementary Schools: 2006 Edition.
Schools in the Greater Toronto area dominate the top of the Report Card's rankings. Twenty-two of the twenty-nine schools sharing first place are located in the GTA and thirteen of these schools are in the city of Toronto. Southwestern Ontario schools claimed three of the top spots, while Eastern Ontario and the North Central region each had two. Of these twenty-nine schools, nineteen are public schools and ten are separate schools.
This annual report analyzes relevant, publicly available data to rate and rank 2,818 of Ontario's English and French, public and separate, elementary schools.
"Parents use the Report Card's indicator values, ratings, and rankings to compare schools when they choose an education provider for their children," said Peter Cowley, director of school performance studies at the Institute, and co-author of the Report Card. "When parents already have a child enrolled at a school they can use our report cards as an annual audit of how that school is doing academically."
Indicators used in the 2006 Report Card
The foundation of the Report Card is an overall rating of each school's academic performance. Using data on student results provided by Ontario's Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), each school is rated on a scale from zero to 10.
For each school, nine indicators of school performance are measured:
1. Average level of achievement on the grade 3 EQAO assessment in reading.
2. Average level of achievement on the grade 3 EQAO assessment in writing.
3. Average level of achievement on the grade 3 EQAO assessment in mathematics.
4. Average level of achievement on the grade 6 EQAO assessment in reading.
5. Average level of achievement on the grade 6 EQAO assessment in writing.
6. Average level of achievement on the grade 6 EQAO assessment in mathematics.
7. The difference between male and female students in their average levels of achievement on the EQAO assessment in grade 6 reading.
8. The difference between male and female students in their average levels of achievement on the EQAO assessment in grade 6 mathematics.
9. The percentage of EQAO assessments that did not meet the provincial standard.
The Trend indicator provides evidence of a school's progress, or lack of it, over time.
Comparisons are at the heart of the improvement process
By comparing a school's latest results with those of earlier years, we can see if the school is improving. By comparing a school's results with those of neighbouring schools or schools having similar school and student characteristics, we can identify more successful schools and learn from them. Reference to overall provincial results places an individual school's level of achievement in a broader context.
"There is great benefit in identifying schools that are particularly effective. By studying the techniques used in schools where students are successful, less effective schools may find ways to improve," said Cowley.
The Report Card series
The first Report Card on Ontario's Elementary Schools was introduced in June 2003. Elementary school report cards are also published in BC and Alberta.
Click Here to see a list of all the Report Cards published by The Fraser Institute
Schools in the Greater Toronto area dominate the top of the Report Card's rankings. Twenty-two of the twenty-nine schools sharing first place are located in the GTA and thirteen of these schools are in the city of Toronto. Southwestern Ontario schools claimed three of the top spots, while Eastern Ontario and the North Central region each had two. Of these twenty-nine schools, nineteen are public schools and ten are separate schools.
This annual report analyzes relevant, publicly available data to rate and rank 2,818 of Ontario's English and French, public and separate, elementary schools.
"Parents use the Report Card's indicator values, ratings, and rankings to compare schools when they choose an education provider for their children," said Peter Cowley, director of school performance studies at the Institute, and co-author of the Report Card. "When parents already have a child enrolled at a school they can use our report cards as an annual audit of how that school is doing academically."
Indicators used in the 2006 Report Card
The foundation of the Report Card is an overall rating of each school's academic performance. Using data on student results provided by Ontario's Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), each school is rated on a scale from zero to 10.
For each school, nine indicators of school performance are measured:
1. Average level of achievement on the grade 3 EQAO assessment in reading.
2. Average level of achievement on the grade 3 EQAO assessment in writing.
3. Average level of achievement on the grade 3 EQAO assessment in mathematics.
4. Average level of achievement on the grade 6 EQAO assessment in reading.
5. Average level of achievement on the grade 6 EQAO assessment in writing.
6. Average level of achievement on the grade 6 EQAO assessment in mathematics.
7. The difference between male and female students in their average levels of achievement on the EQAO assessment in grade 6 reading.
8. The difference between male and female students in their average levels of achievement on the EQAO assessment in grade 6 mathematics.
9. The percentage of EQAO assessments that did not meet the provincial standard.
The Trend indicator provides evidence of a school's progress, or lack of it, over time.
Comparisons are at the heart of the improvement process
By comparing a school's latest results with those of earlier years, we can see if the school is improving. By comparing a school's results with those of neighbouring schools or schools having similar school and student characteristics, we can identify more successful schools and learn from them. Reference to overall provincial results places an individual school's level of achievement in a broader context.
"There is great benefit in identifying schools that are particularly effective. By studying the techniques used in schools where students are successful, less effective schools may find ways to improve," said Cowley.
The Report Card series
The first Report Card on Ontario's Elementary Schools was introduced in June 2003. Elementary school report cards are also published in BC and Alberta.
Click Here to see a list of all the Report Cards published by The Fraser Institute
Topics:
.png)
