Elementary school rankings released, including most improved

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Report cards for Ontario elementary schools are in.

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As children head back to class this week and next, the Fraser Institute released provincial rankings on Thursday that revealed which schools are at the top of the list and others that have improved the most.

The public policy research centre’s Report Card on Ontario’s Elementary Schools has analyzed nine academic indicators from provincewide test results to rank more than 3,000 public, Catholic and independent schools.

“Our report cards offer parents information they can’t easily get anywhere else, about how their child’s school performs and how it compares to other schools in Ontario,” Peter Cowley, a Fraser Institute senior fellow, said in a news release.

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Schools in Toronto that received a 10-out-of-10 rating included Avondale Elementary Alternative School, Northmount School, St. Michael’s Choir School, St. Sebastian Catholic School, Rosedale Junior Public School, Cottingham Junior Public School and Sathya Sai School.

Also receiving top marks across the GTA were St. Justin Martyr Catholic School in Unionville, St. Edmund Catholic School and Khalsa School Malton in Mississauga, Bayview Fairways Public School in Markham, Forest Trail Public School in Oakville and Al Ameen Elementary School and Khalsa Community School in Brampton.

The report card also indicated city schools that have shown the biggest improvement over a five-year period included St. Paul VI Catholic School, Felix-Leclerc Elementary School, King George Junior Public School, Indian Road Crescent Junior Public School, Burrows Hall Junior Public School and Equinox Holistic Alternative School.

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Outside of Toronto, Jean-Beliveau, a French Catholic elementary school in East Gwillimbury, showed the biggest improvement as it increased its overall score from 5.1 in 2017 to 8.2 in 2023.

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Khalsa School Malton, Jack Miner Public School in Whitby and Patricia-Picknell Elementary School in Oakville all saw vast improvements.

The report also said Clinton Street Junior Public School in Toronto, Roy H. Crosby Public School in Markham and Doncrest Public School in Richmond Hill have improved their scores as well, even though they have high numbers of English as a second language and special needs students.

Despite common misconceptions about struggling schools, Cowley said every educational institution can improve its results regardless of type, location and student characteristics.

“It doesn’t matter where a school is ranked or what challenges its students may face,” Cowley said. “The evidence is clear — all types of schools, located all over the province with different types of students, are all capable of improvement.”

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