The three fastest-improving secondary schools in Vancouver are public schools on the east side of the city, finds the Fraser Institute’s annual school rankings.
The “Report Card on B.C.’s Secondary Schools 2014” ranks 293 public and independent secondary schools based on seven indicators using data from the annual province-wide exams administered by the B.C. Ministry of Education.
According to the report card, 30 schools across the province showed improvement over the past five years, including East Vancouver public schools Britannia, Vancouver Technical and Gladstone.
Britannia, a century-old school near Commercial Drive, posted an overall rating of 3 out of 10 in 2009, then improved to 4.4 by 2013, even though 25.3 per cent of its students have special needs—the highest proportion of special needs students among all 293 schools in the Report Card.
“A school like Britannia counters one of the common misconceptions about student performance. It has a high percentage of special needs students, yet it’s improving. The Fraser Institute Report Card consistently demonstrates that some schools find ways to do better regardless of the challenges students face,” said Peter Cowley, Fraser Institute director of school performance studies.
But are other schools learning the secrets of success?
“Parents at schools with consistently low ratings, or schools with declining results, should ask their principals when their schools will experience the kind of improvement in student performance we see in other schools,” Cowley said.
Elementary school
Top 20
2012-13 Rank Rank in the most recent five years Trend School Name City 2012-13 Rating Rating in the most recent five years
1/982 1/717 — Crofton House Vancouver 10.0 10.0
1/982 1/717 ▼ Southridge Surrey 10.0 10.0
1/982 1/717 — St George's Vancouver 10.0 10.0
1/982 1/717 — St Michaels Victoria 10.0 10.0
1/982 1/717 — Vancouver College Vancouver 10.0 10.0
1/982 1/717 ▼ West Point Grey Vancouver 10.0 10.0
1/982 1/717 ▼ York House Vancouver 10.0 10.0
1/982 10/717 — Holy Cross Burnaby 10.0 9.8
1/982 10/717 — Mulgrave West Vancouver 10.0 9.8
1/982 21/717 — St Pius X North Vancouver 10.0 9.4
1/982 30/717 — Our Lady Of Mercy Burnaby 10.0 9.2
/982 32/717 — St Ann's Kamloops 10.0 9.1
1/982 35/717 ▲ Iqra Islamic Surrey 10.0 9.0
1/982 42/717 ▲ Our Lady Of Sorrows Vancouver 10.0 8.9
1/982 n/a n/a Aberdeen Hall Preparatory School Kelowna 10.0 n/a
1/982 n/a n/a Cedardale West Vancouver 10.0 n/a
1/982 n/a n/a Diamond Surrey 10.0 n/a
1/982 n/a n/a Holy Cross Penticton 10.0 n/a
1/982 n/a n/a L'École Francaise
Int'l de Vancouver North Vancouver 10.0 n/a
1/982 n/a n/a Our Lady Of Lourdes Westbank 10.0 n/a
Worst 20
2012-13 Rank Rank in the most recent five years Trend School Name City 2012-13 Rating Rating in the most recent five years
979/982 n/a n/a Craigflower Victoria 0.0 n/a
979/982 n/a n/a Dragon Lake Quesnel 0.0 n/a
979/982 n/a n/a John Field Hazelton 0.0 n/a
979/982 n/a n/a Red Bluff Quesnel 0.0 n/a
978/982 n/a n/a Marie Sharpe Williams Lake 0.2 n/a
977/982 n/a n/a Bella Coola Bella Coola 0.8 n/a
975/982 n/a n/a John Henderson Vancouver 0.9 n/a
975/982 n/a n/a Pleasant Valley Nanaimo 0.9 n/a
974/982 715/717 — Khowhemun Duncan 1.2 2.1
973/982 702/717 ▼ Westwood Prince George 1.3 3.2
972/982 n/a n/a Aboriginal Choice Prince George 1.4 n/a
971/982 n/a n/a Alexander Duncan 1.5 n/a
968/982 711/717 — Cassie Hall Terrace 1.6 2.5
968/982 711/717 — Park Avenue Nanaimo 1.6 2.5
968/982 n/a n/a Norgate North Vancouver 1.6 n/a
967/982 n/a n/a Fraser Lake Fraser Lake 1.7 n/a
965/982 714/717 — George Jay Victoria 1.8 2.3
965/982 n/a n/a Bouchie Lake Quesnel 1.8 n/a
962/982 710/717 ▼ Merritt Central Merritt 1.9 2.7
962/982 717/717 — William Konkin Burns Lake 1.9 1.6
962/982 n/a n/a Bayview Nanaimo 1.9 n/a
Secondary school
Top 20
2012-13 Rank Rank in the most recent five years Trend School Name City 2012-13 Rating Rating in the most recent five years
1/293 1/262 — York House Vancouver 10.0 10.0
1/293 2/262 ▲ Crofton House Vancouver 10.0 9.8
3/293 3/262 — Southridge Surrey 9.7 9.7
3/293 4/262 — Little Flower Vancouver 9.7 9.6
3/293 4/262 — West Point Grey Vancouver 9.7 9.6
6/293 4/262 — St George's Vancouver 9.4 9.6
6/293 n/a n/a Glenlyon Norfolk Victoria 9.4 n/a
6/293 n/a n/a Relevant Surrey 9.4 n/a
9/293 7/262 — Collingwood West Vancouver 9.3 9.2
10/293 13/262 — Shawnigan Lake Shawnigan Lake 9.2 8.7
10/293 21/262 ▲ Richmond Christian Richmond 9.2 8.2
12/293 7/262 — Meadowridge Maple Ridge 9.1 9.2
13/293 10/262 — St Michaels Victoria 9.0 9.1
13/293 n/a n/a Timothy Christian Chilliwack 9.0 n/a
15/293 7/262 — Brentwood College Mill Bay 8.9 9.2
15/293 11/262 — Vancouver College Vancouver 8.9 8.9
15/293 26/262 — St John's Vancouver 8.9 7.9
18/293 n/a n/a St Margaret's Victoria 8.8 n/a
19/293 n/a n/a Mulgrave West Vancouver 8.7 n/a
20/293 14/262 — Kelowna Christian Kelowna 8.6 8.5
Worst 20
2012-13 Rank Rank in the most recent five years Trend School Name City 2012-13 Rating Rating in the most recent five years
293/293 n/a n/a St John's International Vancouver 0.0 n/a
292/293 n/a n/a Prespatou Prespatou 0.6 n/a
291/293 262/262 — Hazelton Hazelton 1.0 1.3
290/293 n/a n/a Logan Lake Logan Lake 1.9 n/a
288/293 258/262 — John Barsby Nanaimo 2.1 2.8
288/293 n/a n/a Tumbler Ridge Tumbler Ridge 2.1 n/a
287/293 251/262 — North Island Port McNeill 2.3 3.5
285/293 251/262 — North Peace Fort St John 2.5 3.5
285/293 261/262 — Lillooet Lillooet 2.5 2.4
283/293 236/262 — Barriere Barriere 2.9 4.2
283/293 251/262 — Fort St James Fort St James 2.9 3.5
282/293 242/262 — Merritt Merritt 3.0 4.1
280/293 236/262 ▼ South Peace Dawson Creek 3.1 4.2
280/293 n/a n/a Ashcroft Ashcroft 3.1 n/a
279/293 194/262 — J V Humphries Kaslo 3.2 5.1
274/293 137/262 — Sparwood Sparwood 3.4 5.8
274/293 213/262 — Princeton Princeton 3.4 4.8
274/293 233/262 ▼ L A Matheson Surrey 3.4 4.3
274/293 247/262 — Pender Harbour Madeira Park 3.4 3.8
274/293 259/262 — Chetwynd Chetwynd 3.4 2.7