The top public secondary school in the Cowichan Valley, according to the Fraser Institute, is Lake Cowichan School.
The right-wing think tank released its controversial rankings of secondary schools recently and four Cowichan Valley secondary schools are moving up the annual ratings.
Topping the Cowichan Valley tree is Shawnigan Lake School at ninth out of 294 with a score of 9.4 out of 10, with Brentwood College School close behind in 11th place with a score of 9.2.
In third place is Queen Margaret’s School, ranked at 60/294 with a score of 7.3 out of 10.
The top public secondary school, however, is indeed Lake Cowichan Secondary, ranked at 96/294 with a score of 6.8.
Chemainus Secondary is not far behind, ranked 106th with a score of 6.6/10.
Further down the list are Cowichan Secondary in 183rd place with a 5.5/10 score and Frances Kelsey Secondary in 191st place with 5.4.
Finally, Dwight International School in Shawnigan Lake placed 223/294 with a score of 5.0/10, and Duncan Christian School ranked 254th with 4.1.
More B.C. secondary schools have declining performances than improving scores, according to the Fraser Institute’s Report Card on British Columbia’s Secondary Schools 2016.
In the Valley, though, Shawnigan Lake School, and Lake Cowichan, Chemainus, and Frances Kelsey Secondary Schools are moving up the rankings with only Brentwood College and Cowichan Secondary declining over their rankings of the past five years.
There was not enough data to see if Queen Margaret’s, Dwight, and Duncan Christian are improving or declining over that period.
The controversial rankings rate 294 public and independent secondary schools based on seven academic indicators using student results from annual provincewide exams, grade-to-grade transition rates and graduation rates.
“Whether they are choosing a school or already have children enrolled, our rankings are the go-to source for parents who want to find out how a school is doing over time or when compared to other schools,” Peter Cowley, Director of School Performance Studies at the Fraser Institute, said on releasing the report.
In this year’s report, 28 schools experienced declines in performance since the school year 2010/2011, while 21 schools have improved.
“For the schools with declining performance, turning that trend around should be a top priority for the teachers and parents of these schools,” Cowley added. Detailed results: www.compareschoolrankings.org.