| 1. |
Q: |
Why is my school not listed in the report card? |
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A: |
The school must have a minimum enrollment of students (usually 15) in the grades upon which the report card focuses. These are grades 3, 6, or 12 for Alberta and Ontario, and 4, 7, and 12 for BC. In some cases due to circumstances beyond the control of the school (example: school burned down, flooding, epidemic) there are not sufficient data with which to rank it. |
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| 2. |
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For what provinces does The Fraser Institute publish report cards and for how long have they been doing this? |
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The Report Card on Elementary Schools in BC has been published since 2003 and the Report Card on Secondary Schools in BC has been published since 1998. |
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In 2004 we published the first Report Card on Aboriginal Education in British Columbia. |
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The Report Card on Elementary Schools in Alberta has been published since 2002 and the Report Card on High Schools in Alberta has been published since 1999. |
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The Report Card on Elementary Schools in Ontario been published since 2003. |
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The Report Card on Secondary Schools in Quebec has been published since 2000. |
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Starting in 2006 the Yukon was included in the Report Card on Secondary Schools in BC. |
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| 3. |
Q: |
Can I choose a school based on the report card alone? |
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We do not recommend this. The report card answers the question ‘overall, how is the school doing academically?’ The report card is one objective tool for parents to use when choosing a school for their child or when they want to keep informed about the school their child is attending. The report card should be used in conjunction with visits to the school, and discussions with administrators, teachers, support staff, their child and other parents. |
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| 4. |
Q: |
Why does the report card not include attendance? |
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Attendance is not included as an indicator because the suitable data are not available. |
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| 5. |
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Does the report take into account the fact that some schools try to improve results by encouraging lower performing kids not to take the exams? |
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While it is true the report card’s results don’t take non-participation rates into account, results aren’t conditioned by other factors. We report participation so readers can see how many students are or are not writing. Most important is to pay attention to the trend and ask, is the average test mark remaining at the same level, decreasing or increasing over the years as the school team finds ways to address the needs of all students? |
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| 6. |
Q: |
Is it true that the report card is only a “snapshot”? |
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The report card uses a number of different indicators (not just average exam mark, but gender gap, failure rate, etc.) as many courses as there are data available for, and it uses a number of years of historical data that provides a perspective over the course of time, so that the reader can get a more valid picture of the academic state of the school. |
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| 7. |
Q: |
What subjects do the report cards look at? |
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Elementary report cards look at Reading, Writing and Numeracy. Secondary or High School report cards look at English and Math exams. |
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| 8. |
Q: |
What exam results are used in the calculations for the report cards? |
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In BC we use results of the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) exams in grades 4 and 7 and provincial exams in grades 12. |
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In Alberta we use results of the Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) in grades 3 and 6 and provincial exams in grade 12. |
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In Ontario we use results of the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) exams in grades 3 and 6 and the provincial exams in grade 10. |
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| 9. |
Q: |
Does the data that the rating is based on come from the same school year that the report card is released in? |
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No, the report card is based on the most recent data we can get from the Ministry which is, usually, from the previous school year. For example: a 2006 report card uses data from the 2004-2005 school year. |
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| 10. |
Q: |
What does a low average test score mean? |
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There are a number of factors that could lead to a low average test score. For instance, a drop in performance from previous years could indicate that an outside event could have occurred that affected the majority of the students in one grade (death of a student, flu epidemic) or it could be that a percentage of the class requires extra attention that takes away from the learning of others. Consistently poor exam results may be an indication that a teacher is not qualified in the subject they are teaching. There are various reasons for low average test scores and it's important to learn what these are from the school directly. |
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| 11. |
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Isn’t the report card just a way to distinguish the “have” schools from the “have not” schools? |
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Each year there are many schools with students from low socioeconomic backgrounds who perform well on the rankings or who show varying degrees of improvement each year. Moreover, we see schools with students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds that do not receive high rankings or who have varying degrees of decline each year. See scatter plot. |
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| 12. |
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How do we improve our ranking? |
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One suggestion would be to look at other schools serving similar students and see how they are doing. If they are doing better, perhaps go and talk with them to find out what is “working” for them? |
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| 13. |
Q: |
Should I consider an Overall Rating below 6 a “fail”? |
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No. A ranking of 6 is the provincial average. The school ranking does not reflect a pass or fail. It reflects whether the school is performing at, above or below the provincial average. |
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| 14. |
Q: |
Do you report data in the same way as the ministries do? |
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Student results are based on data provided to us by the respected ministries. However, the report card indicators may present ministry data in ways not used by the ministry. |
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| 15. |
Q: |
Why did the ranking of my child’s school decrease (or increase) this year? |
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A: |
The report card was designed to provide information about how each school is doing academically. The reasons for individual results may be different and requires the input of teachers, principals, parents and students. It is important to remember that how a school does over time is most important. |
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| 16. |
Q: |
In the BC report cards why is there a “n/a” reported for the ESL and Special Needs indicators pertaining to private schools? |
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The reason that a “n/a” (insufficient data) is recorded for private schools in the ESL and Special Needs indicators is because the Ministry of Education does not require private schools to identify these students. |
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| 17. |
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What does it mean that the report card’s results are relative? |
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This means that each school is ranked relative to every other school, so if the majority of schools’ scores were to go up the average would go up as well. This would mean that while the schools have improved their performance in an indicator (for example, average test mark in English) if the majority of other schools have improved as well, the school’s overall rating could remain the same. |
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| 18. |
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Why do the report cards not include indicators related to trades, fine arts, citizenship etc.? |
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Indicators related to these areas are not included because no data are available to develop such indicators. If data were to become available we would certainly consider including these measures in the report cards. |
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| 19. |
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Is it true that in small schools just a couple of poor exam results can negatively affect the school’s overall rating? |
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Yes, small schools can be significantly affected either for better or worse by the results of just a few students. |
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| 20. |
Q: |
When are the report cards published each year? |
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Alberta Elementary |
February – March |
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BC and Yukon Secondary |
March - April |
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Alberta High School |
April - May |
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BC Elementary |
April - May |
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Ontario Elementary |
May – June |
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Quebec Secondary |
October |
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Ontario Secondary |
October |
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| 21. |
Q: |
Does The Fraser Institute prepare and/or administer the exams the report cards are based on? |
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No. The Fraser Institute does not prepare or administer exams of any kind. We simply report the results of these exams through the publishing of the report cards. |
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| 22. |
Q: |
Is the ranking based on one day in the life of a school? |
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A: |
The rankings are based on results from exams that are cumulative and cover material from the entire year’s curriculum, not just one day. Students who achieve the provincial average or above on these exams attest to the fact that their teacher has done an exceptional job in getting them to retain knowledge long term and in preparing them to work under the pressure of a lengthy, time-constrained exam that was not prepared by the teacher. It also attests to the student’s own abilities. |
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