Usually it is schools on the delivering end of report cards, but last week Saskatchewan high schools were handed out marks on their performances.
Schools across the province were ranked based on a variety of factors in the First Annual Report Card on Western Canadian High Schools compiled by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy (FCPP). The study considered 12 indicators in comparing the schools, from attendance and post-secondary participation to standing in provincial exams and pupil to teacher ratios.
Within the Prairie South School Division (PSSD), Glentworth Central and Central Butte schools placed third and sixth, respectively. Caronport High School was placed 19thout of the 178 schools ranked.
Moose Jaw’s Central Collegiate was 57th, Vanier was 97th, Peacock was 111th, and Riverview was placed 165th. École Ducharme was one of approximately 100 schools left unranked due to insufficient information.
The report card was not to assess student success, stressed FCPP policy analyst David Seymour, but to reflect schools’ overall performances. He said the provincial government here was very open to sharing data on schools, something Manitoba did not allow.
“The real purpose of this thing is that it informs debate at the local level about how different schools are doing,” explained Seymour.
PSSD superintendent of curriculum and learning Dr. Sandi Kitts welcomed the report card, and said the division’s senior team would be looking at the data this week.
“There will be some information from that that we’ll make use of. I appreciate that other people are interested in us improving, we are too,” said Kitts.
The top ranked school was Englefeld School, which has an enrolment of just over 100.