5 of region’s high schools rated among best in B.C.

Fraser Institute releases annual ranking of province’s high schools

Five of the Central Okanagan’s seven high schools are in the top quarter of all B.C. high schools in terms of student achievement, a new ranking says.

The highest-rated local school on the annual list, prepared by the Fraser Institute, was Okanagan Mission, with a score of 8.0 out of a possible 10 points. It placed 24th among the 253 B.C. high schools.

Immaculata, a Catholic school, and George Elliot in Winfield both scored a rating of 7 (43rd place).

“Parents should use this report card every year to assess how their child’s school is doing and, when necessary, ask the principal how he or she plans to turn things around,” the report’s author, Peter Cowley, says in a Fraser Institute release.

The two other schools in the top quarter of all 253 B.C. high schools were Kelowna Secondary, with a rating of 7.2 (52nd place overall), and Kelowna Christian at 7.1 (57th place).

Mount Boucherie scored a 6.5 (102nd place), and Rutland scored a 6.0 (131st place).

The rankings are based on such things as student results from annual provincewide exams, grade-tograde transition rates and graduation rates.

Critics say the Fraser Institute rankings do not give a full picture of what’s going on at local schools. Many other measures should be used to gauge a school’s performance, critics say.

Moyra Baxter, chair of Central Okanagan Public Schools, says she didn’t even look at the elementary school rankings when they were released earlier this year by the Fraser Institute.

“We do all kinds of authentic assessment in the classroom so that our students have success,” board superintendent Kevin Kaardal said in April.