Fraser Institute Rankings show improving Quebec Schools

Public VS Private/Independent

The latest rankings issued by the Fraser Institute show that 20 of the top 25 schools in Quebec are Private / Independent Schools with the vast majority of the top schools located in the Montreal region.

While the top 5 Schools tied for first place are Francophone, Miss Edgar’s and Miss Cramp’s ranks number one among English Schools.

Other high ranking English Schools were Bialik, St. George’s School of Montreal, The Study, and Trafalgar School for Girls.

“From Marion Scott of the Montreal Gazette”

A study released in September by the Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomiques (IRIS) suggested that 40 per cent of Quebec high school students are enrolled in private schools and that the proportion is growing.

 

Just 28 per cent of students were enrolled in private schools in 2001-02.

 

Philippe Hurteau, co-author of the study, rejected the idea that increased enrolment in private schools suggests private education has become more accessible, arguing instead that a two-tiered system has resulted in inequities.

 

He noted that 72 per cent of students attending private school come from high-income families while only seven per cent come from low-income homes.

 

The Fraser Institute’s rankings of 455 schools across Quebec are based on Secondary 4 and Secondary 5 exam scores in five compulsory subjects.

 

Critics of the rankings claim they are misleading and that top-ranked schools are not actually the best schools, since there is more to education than how well students perform on final exams. Quebec’s federation of school boards has long refused to comment on them, saying their worth is disputed.

 

However, the conservative think tank argues the rankings are useful because they reflect students’ academic performance as well as schools’ efforts to help students improve.