CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwire – Feb 23, 2013) – Across Alberta, 42 elementary schools showed significant improvement in their academic performance over the past five years, according to the Fraser Institute”s annual school rankings.
Among these improving elementary schools are public, private, separate, francophone, and charter schools.
“This is why the Fraser Institute school report card is the go-to source for measuring academic improvement: it highlights school success stories from Grand Prairie in the west to Fort McMurray in the east and from La Crete in the north to Cardston in the south,” said Peter Cowley, Fraser Institute director of school performance studies.
“Our report shows that all schools are capable of improvement, regardless of the personal or family challenges their students might face. If educators want to help students learn and improve, they should be talking to these schools.”
The Report Card on Alberta”s Elementary Schools 2013 rates 659 public, private, separate, charter, and francophone elementary schools based on nine academic indicators using data from the annual Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) administered by Alberta Education.
“By pinpointing the subject areas in which individual schools are improving or declining and how their academic performance compares to that of other Alberta schools over the past five years, our report helps parents and educators prioritize learning challenges in their schools,” Cowley said.
The report card also includes important information about each school”s make-up, including parents” average income, the percentage of ESL students, and the percentage of special needs students.
The complete results for all 659 elementary schools will also be available at www.compareschoolrankings.org where visitors can compare individual schools with others based on their results over the last five years.
Of the 20 Alberta elementary schools showing the fastest academic improvement over the past five years, 13 are public schools where the parental income is below average. At seven of those schools, ESL students account for more than 40 per cent of school enrolment. The complete list follows.
“We all want the best possible education for our children. To achieve this, every Alberta school should make improvement Job 1,” Cowley said.
Top 20 Fastest-Improving Alberta Elementary Schools
- Bannerman (Public), Edmonton
- Pollard Meadows (Public), Edmonton
- St. Augustine (Separate), Ponoka
- Thickwood Heights (Public), Fort McMurray
- Westglen (Public), Edmonton
- Annie Foote (Public), Calgary
- Langevin (Public), Calgary
- Virginia Park (Public), Edmonton
- Grandview Heights (Public), Edmonton
- Two Hills Mennonite (Public), Edmonton
- Erin Woods (Public), Calgary
- High Prairie (Public), High Prairie
- St. Clare (Separate), Calgary
- St. Lucy (Separate), Edmonton
- Derek Taylor (Public), Grande Prairie
- Blueberry (Public), Stony Plain
- McLeod (Public), Edmonton
- Meyokumin (Public), Edmonton
- Hill Crest (Public), La Crete
- Millwoods Christian (Public), Edmonton
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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of 86 think-tanks. Its mission is to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals. To protect the Institute”s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org.
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The Fraser Institute: 42 Elementary Schools Across Alberta Score Improvement in Fraser Institute School Rankings
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