Quinte News reached out to the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board following its story on the Fraser Institute’s latest Secondary School Rankings report for Ontario.
Below is the response from school board officials when asked by Quinte News for comment on Trenton High School’s ranking of 2.4 out of 10 in 2022.
The ranking needs to be put in proper perspective. As presented, the Fraser Institute rankings provide an incomplete and distorted picture of school effectiveness. There is no evidence to show that ranking schools improves student learning. Judgements of school quality should be based on the complete picture of all the programs and features of a school.
Ranking also demoralizes teachers and belittles the efforts of students. HPEDSB delivers a curriculum that encourages critical thinking, problem solving, academic excellence and citizenship.
EQAO scores, which is what the Fraser Institute rankings are based on, are one piece of the whole picture about a school. EQAO test results provide useful information to improve our learning programs but it’s unfair and misleading to compare schools based only on these scores. EQAO scores are indicators of where students need extra support. Tests are only useful if they are used to improve student learning. Schools can develop literacy and numeracy improvement plans, provide extra resources, and provide parent tips and strategies to help students at home.
Here are the local secondary schools’ 2022 Fraser Institute rankings based on Education Quality and Accountability Office test results in reading, writing, and math. The average score among all 689 schools ranked was six.
ecole secondaire Marc Garneau 7.8 (87/689)
St. Paul Catholic 7.2 (181/689)
Nicholson Catholic 6.7 (260/689)
East Northumberland Secondary 6.5 (288/689)
St. Theresa Catholic 6.1 ((357/689)
Bayside Secondary 5.8 (409/689)
Centennial Secondary 4.8 (531/689)
Campbellford District High School 4.4 (575/689)
Centre Hastings School 3.7 (615/689)
Prince Edward Collegiate 3.5 (624/689)
Moira (Eastside Secondary) 3.4 (628/689)
North Hastings 3 (644/689)
Trenton High 2.4 (657/689)
