Fraser Institute says high school exam marks trending downward; expert says there are alternatives for parents

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Exam marks are down and test failure rates are trending upward. The annual Fraser Institute ranking of BC’s secondary schools have been released, and the free-enterprise policy group says it shows a troubling development.

“When we look over overall at the 253 schools, we do see a disturbing trend,” says Peter Cowley, Director of School Performance Studies at the Fraser Institute.

“Exam marks over the last four years, on average, have gone down a reasonable amount. It’s not a disaster but they are trending downward. Same with the percentage of those exams that were failed. This is a measure of the extent to which each school ensures that kids have acquired the skills and knowledge that they need to go on and they can show it on a test,” he tells NEWS 1130.

Cowley says the latest high school rankings show a 10.5 per cent test failure rate, up from 8.8 per cent four years ago. “Not a huge decline, but it is a decline.”

He adds the difference between class marks and exam marks, on average, is also widening.

Critics of the Fraser Institute suggest its annual school rankings are flawed, favouring wealthy independent schools. And once again, it is independents dominating the top of the list.

“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,” Cowley argues.

The think tank’s findings show of the top 10 fastest-improving schools — regardless of rank — six are located outside the Lower Mainland in Kitimat, Princeton, Prince Rupert, Trail, Terrace and Kamloops. Only one of the top 10 fastest-improvers is in Vancouver.

“This report card proves that improvement is possible in every corner of the province, in every type of school serving every type of student,” Cowley says.

Go to the local school and see environment for yourself, says expert

A noted education expert suggests the Fraser Institute rankings are only one tool available to parents, who can easily access other sources of information about their local schools to gain a more complete picture.

“Let me begin with a common fallacy,” says Charles Ungerleider, a professor of the sociology of education at UBC and director of research at Directions Evidence and Policy Research Group.

“It’s the mistake behind the choice of schools. There are more within-school differences, and they are greater than the between-school differences. Choosing assumes that the differences between schools are greater than the differences within schools and that is a mistake that people make when picking the school their kids attend,” he explains.

Ungerleider says his best advice for parents is to go to their local school and see if it is an environment that would be comfortable for their children.

“I say ‘local’ for a couple of reasons, one of which is peer relationships. The other kids with whom you study and play after school are pivotally important. Often when parents choose schools, if they are outside their home community, it’s more difficult for the student to establish relationships with friends. It makes it much more complicated.”

Ungerleider, who is also a former BC deputy minister of education, says parents also invest “social capital” in schools.

“We have a commitment to that particular institution. When we go beyond our immediate school, our commitment to our local community is obviously diminished. That hurts local institutions, whether it’s a school, place of worship, or whatever it might be.”

Ungerleider says there are alternatives to the Fraser Institute rankings.

“Almost all of the statistics about performance are available on the Internet from the Ministry of Education. You can look up the school and see how it is performing.”

But there are some dangers in doing that. If there is a small core of students taking the tests year after year, just a few kids can influence the average performance in the school. Results can fluctuate dramatically if there is a small population of students.

“The best thing a parent can do is go to a school, sit in classrooms, talk to teachers and the principal, ask to visit the staff room to see how the teachers relate to each other, stand out on the playing field and watch how the youngsters interact with each other. All of those are good signs,” he says.

“The most important thing, from an educational point of view, is the comfort a parent has and the feeling of support that the parents have for the particular school. It’s pivotally important.”

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today