Students can succeed despite lack of money: Fraser Institute

Personal and economic challenges don't alwaysdictate how well a student will do in school, according to data from theFraserInstitute's annual schoolrankings.

The report, released Saturday, ranked782 anglophone and francophonepublic, separate, private, and charter schools based on nineacademic indicators from results of the annual ProvincialAchievement Tests (PATs) administered by Alberta Education. The report is designed to provide information that will empower parents to look more critically atthe quality oftheir child's education.

"Parents have a role to play in school improvement,"said Peter Cowley, the Fraser Institute's director of school performance studies. "If,whenthey review a school's Fraser Institute rankings and notice thateither the rankings are consistently low or there's little or noimprovement, parents can and should ask theirprincipals what'sbeing done to improve results in the classroom."

The report alsoincludedinformation aboutthe personal and familycharacteristicsof each school's students.

It showedhow, despite perceived barriersto learning, some schools areable to ensure their students'success.

High scores despitelack of money, high ESL rates

One example highlighted in the report is Raymond Elementary, a public school south of Lethbridge.

Despite an average parental income of $28,700the third-lowestamong the782 schools that were rankedRaymond Elementarypostedan overall rating of 7.6 and a five-yearaverage rating of 7.1.

Moreover, 20.6 per cent of Raymond students havespecial needs.

At other schools, administrators and teachers were able to overcome obstacles involving language.

For example, at Meyokumin, a public school in Edmonton, studenttest scores remain high despite English being thesecond language (ESL) for 77 per cent of studentsone of the highest ESL percentages ofall 782 ranked schools.

The school posted an overall rating of 9.2this year (compared to the 6.0 all-schools average) and a five-yearaveragerating of 8.1, placing Meyokumin in the top nine per cent ofschools overall.

Calgary schoolshighlighted

Two Calgary public schools also rank well above the all-schools average despite high percentages of ESL students.

Edgemont's student body is 44.1 per cent ESL,yet the school has an overall ranking of 8.9, with a five-year average of 8.6.

At Glamorgan, 44.3 per cent of students are ESL and the school has an overall rating of 8.3 and a five-year average of 7.7.

So what makes schools like Raymond Elementary and Meyokumin so successful? The Fraser Institute says educators across Alberta should be eager to find out.

"This is why the Fraser Institute Report Card is the go-tosource for measuring academic performance," Cowley said. "Parents across Alberta should ask their principals why schools like Raymond do so wellandwhat can be learned to help other schools improve."