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Here's how the Fraser Institute ranks Delta's high schools

Schools don't do well in rankings despite Delta's high graduation rates
Sandor Gyarmati
burnsview secondary
Burnsview Secondary had the lowest personal rating among Delta public schools at 4.9 out of 10, according to the Fraser Institute.Sandor Gyarmati

Only two Delta public school placed in the top 100 in the Fraser Institute’s latest controversial ranking of the province’s secondary schools.

The Report Card on British Columbia’s Secondary Schools had Southpointe Academy, a private school, ranked as the best school in Delta, placing 44th out of 251 schools in B.C. The school was also given a personal rating of 8.4 out of 10 for 2017/18.

The top public school was Seaquam Secondary, placing 47th overall with a rating of 7.1.

That was followed by Delview (79th), Delta (136th), North Delta (143rd), South Delta (180th) and Burnsview (194th).

Public and independent secondary schools were ranked based on seven academic indicators using student results from annual province-wide exams, grade-to-grade transition rates as well as graduation rates, the Fraser Institute explains.

 

“All too often, we hear excuses that public schools can’t compete with independent schools because of the communities and students that they serve, but that’s just not true - every school can improve and strive to rank higher than the year before,” said Angela MacLeod, a Fraser Institute senior policy analyst, a recent news release.

In last year’s report, Seaquam rated as the best Delta school overall, finishing 19th in the ranking.

While Delta schools may not be looked upon favourably by the Fraser Institute, the district’s graduation rates, including those for Aboriginal students, continues to exceed the provincial averages.

 

According to data released by the education ministry last year, the Delta completion rate for all students was 91.2 per cent, and 80.2 per cent for Aboriginal students. B.C. came in at 84 per cent for all students and 65.9 per cent for Aboriginal students.

Meanwhile, none of the Delta school district’s elementary schools cracked the top 200 in the Fraser Institute’s latest rankings this year.

The rankings have long dismissed by the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, while the Delta school board has also dismissed them as not providing an accurate representation of what’s really going on in schools and how schools are really doing.