Fastest improving secondary schools in Ontario found outside the GTA, according to annual ranking – Fraser Institute

Press Release

February 19, 2017

TORONTO—Secondary schools in all corners of Ontario are showing signs of improvement, but far too many schools aren’t improving at all, or worse, have declined in their overall ratings, according to the Fraser Institute’s annual ranking of Ontario secondary schools released today.

“From northern Ontario to the southwest, urban and rural, schools with high levels of special needs students or schools in ethnically diverse communities, there are examples across the province of schools serving students with very different needs that are improving year after year,” said Peter Cowley, director of School Performance Studies at the Fraser Institute.

This year’s Report Card on Ontario’s Secondary Schools ranks 740 anglophone and francophone public and Catholic schools (as well as a small number of independent and First Nations schools) based on seven academic indicators from results of annual provincewide math and literacy tests.

Of the 10 fastest improving secondary schools in Ontario, none are in Toronto or even the Greater Toronto Area.

Marie-Rivier, a French Catholic high school in Kingston, is the fastest improving, followed by West Ferris Secondary School in North Bay, Sacre-Coeur in Sudbury, and St. Thomas Aquinas in Lindsey.

Looking at the 15 schools in the Toronto-area that are improving, nearly half had household incomes well below the provincial average of $74,700 in 2012/13, the last school year for which this statistic was calculated.

C.W. Jeffreys near Jane and Finch in Toronto was the fastest improving school in the GTA. Blessed Mother Teresa in Scarborough’s Malvern neighbourhood was 2^nd fastest. James Cardinal McGuigan, also in the Jane and Finch area, was the 7^th fastest improving school in the GTA.

While fifty-nine schools showed improvement in their overall ratings over the past five years, 51 showed declining scores.

“All too often we hear excuses that schools can’t improve their students’ performance because of the communities they serve, but there are success stories across Ontario where teachers with students that face challenges every day nonetheless find ways to help their students improve,” Cowley said.

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

10 fastest improving secondary schools in all Ontario (fastest at the top)

			2016 overall
School	Location		rating (out
			of 10)
École Secondaire Marie-Rivier	Kingston	7.8
West Ferris Secondary School	North Bay	6.9
École Secondaire du Sacre-Coeur	Sudbury	5.2
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School	Lindsay	7.9
Welland Centennial Secondary School	Welland	7.4

Opeongo High School	Douglas	5.7
Geraldton Composite High School	Geraldton	4.8
École Secondaire Catholique Champlain	Chelmsford	4.3
Campbellford District High School	Campbellford	6.0
École Secondaire Publique Deslauriers	Nepean	6.0

10 fastest improving secondary schools in Toronto and the GTA (fastest at the top)

			2016 overall
School	Location		rating (out
			of 10)
C.W. Jeffreys Collegiate Institute	North York	4.9
Blessed Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School	Scarborough	5.3
Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute	North York	6.9
Bloor Collegiate Institute	Toronto	9.0
West Humber Collegiate Institute	Etobicoke	6.3
Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton	Toronto	5.2
James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School	North York	5.0
Thornlea Secondary School	Thornhill	8.3
St. Patrick Secondary School	Toronto	7.4
Maple High School	Vaughan	7.3

(30)

MEDIA CONTACT:

Peter Cowley
Director of School Performance Studies, Fraser Institute
Cell: (604) 789-0475
Office: (604) 714-4556
E-mail: peter.cowley@fraserinstitute.org

Bryn Weese
Media Relations Specialist, Fraser Institute
Cell: (604) 250-8076
Office: (604) 688-0221 Ext. 589
E-mail: bryn.weese@fraserinstitute.org

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