Eden High School top-ranked in Niagara

Parents of high school-aged children should disregard results of the Fraser Institute’s Report Card on Ontario’s High Schools released last week, a spokesperson for the District School Board of Niagara says.

Methodology used by the Institute to come up with the rankings is “flawed,” and does not paint an accurate picture as it “relies solely on EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office) scores and fails to take into account other ways of measuring student achievement,” Marian Reimer Friesen, Superintendent of Curriculum and Student Achievement for the DSBN says in an email.

In compiling the report, The Fraser Institute used the following data to measure school performance:

• The average level of achievement on Grade 9 EQAO assessment in math;

• The percentage of Ontario Secondary School Literacy Tests (OSSLT) written by first-time eligible students that were successfully completed;

• The percentage of OSSLTs written by previously eligible students that were successfully completed;

• The percentage of all the completed tests written by students at the school that were assessed either as unsuccessful (OSSLT) or below the provincial standard (Grade 9 math tests);

• The difference between male and female students in their average levels of achievement on Grade 9 EQAO assessment in mathematics, and;

• The difference between male and female students attempting the OSSLT for the first time in their rate of successful completion of the test.

The average of those six data sets were then used to come up with an overall score.

In all, 689 public, Catholic, and independent schools across the province were ranked based on eight academic indicators derived from province-wide test results over a five-year period from 2016 to 2022. The five-year period helps determine how school performance is trending.

But Reimer Friesen said the DSBN relies on more than test scores to determine student success.

“We use a multitude of data sources to assess and evaluate student achievement with the goal of ensuring every student finds success,” she said. “The Fraser Institute’s own website states that ‘the choice of a school should not be made solely on the basis of a single source of information.”

In the report, Eden High School is at the head of the class for Niagara schools in either the public or Catholic systems. The St. Catharines school with roots in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and which still draws some of its students from there, is ranked 41st in the province for 2022, the latest year statistics are available, up six places from its five-year average of 47th.

There are many other assessment tools teachers use in a classroom that may not be considered by the Fraser Institute

Among Catholic schools, the top performer was Blessed Trinity in Grimsby, which was ranked 52nd for 2022, much improved over its five-year average of 170. Blessed Trinity wound up with an overall score of 8.2, up more than a full point from its five-year average of 7.1.

Other results for schools which include students from catchment areas including Pelham, Thorold and NOTL largely held their own in the rankings.

In Pelham, E.L. Crossley Secondary School came in at 120, up from its five-year average of 131 while in Thorold, Thorold Secondary School was the lowest ranked Niagara school at No. 615, down from its five-year average of 511.

Meanwhile, Niagara Catholic schools which service the same three catchment areas include St. Catharines’ Holy Cross (NOTL), Denis Morris (Thorold) and Notre Dame College in Welland (Pelham and Thorold). The schools’ five-year averages are in parentheses.

Holy Cross was ranked 516th (377) with an overall score of 5 (5.9), Denis Morris was ranked 378th (336) with an overall score of 6 (6.2). Notre Dame, meanwhile, was 341st (350) with an overall rating of 6.2 (6.1).

Like DSBN’s Reimer Friesen, Niagara Catholic Director of Education Camillo Cipriano said there is more to measuring student success that standardized testing. The tests are important, but they do not represent a complete picture, he said.

“It is important to remember that they are a snapshot of how a particular student or cohort did in a moment in time, not over the course of a school year,” Cipriano said in an email. “There are many other assessment tools teachers use in a classroom that may not be considered by the Fraser Institute, including a student’s progress over the year or their involvement in classroom activities.” 

He added that the board uses “evidence-based tools and resources” to help measure student progress.

“We monitor students and implement early intervention programs to support ones who show gaps in learning, particularly primary students in the areas of math and language,” Cipriano said. “We regularly update student learning plans to ensure we are focusing on areas of need.”

The report’s authors say the chosen data offers “useful insight into a school’s performance” and is generated annually.

“We can assess not only each school’s performance in any given year but also its improvement or deterioration over time,” the report stated.

The report, according to Cowley, is helpful to parents of students who are entering – or are already attending – a secondary school.

“Our report cards offer parents information they can’t easily get anywhere else, about how their child’s school performs and how it compares to other schools in Ontario,” said Peter Cowley, a Fraser Institute senior fellow, and one of three authors of the report.

“It doesn’t matter where a school is ranked, or what challenges its students may face,” Cowley said. “The evidence is clear—all types of schools, located all over the province with different types of students, are all capable of improvement,” Cowley said.

The complete report may be found here.