Measured progress and accountability are keys to education success

For nine years, AIMS and Progress have been presenting a broad set of information about high schools throughout Atlantic Canada. We do this to keep our education providers thinking about progress using good evidence to guide the way. 

It’s our intention that you use these report cards to ask tough questions of your school boards and schools. Why do students get high marks from teachers but fail provincial exams? Why aren’t students prepared for university studies? Why is it difficult to keep students coming to school?

These questions establish a greater level of accountability regarding issues that will impact us profoundly in the future. AIMS has been instrumental in influencing our education system to collect and present evidence of their performance. Every Atlantic Canadian province now has some province-wide assessment, provides public access to some performance information, and is collecting more performance information than when we started in 2002. 

This year Holland College has joined the ranks of Atlantic post-secondary institutions providing performance data for students. We now receive first-year students’ academic-achievement information from 21 of the 23 post-secondary institutions in Atlantic Canada (only the University of Prince Edward Island and Université de Moncton are MIA). Also, New Brunswick Community College has improved its reporting system to allow distribution of average marks rather than just pass-fail rates.  

But as we make strides in one area, we’re knocked back in others. New Brunswick’s anglophone sector eliminated its senior-level provincial assessments six years ago.  Although they currently remain for the francophone sector, they may be in jeopardy. Financial problems for Nova Scotia’s Department of Education may threaten provincial exams. The 2008/09 language arts exams were assessed by classroom teachers rather than the typical unbiased, centralized markers. This is emblematic of an assessment regime under threat. 

So the battle continues, but we’re happy to carry on the fight. In these times where fiscal constraint by our public bodies is necessary to avoid bankrupting future generations, or even this generation, all spending is up for review. Some see assessment and evaluation of public services as a prime target for cuts. But the cost of knowing if and how well a public service is achieving its objectives is miniscule compared to the cost of not knowing

Provincial School Performance Summaries

New Brunswick anglophone 

Provincial exams and school marks are not made available for New Brunswick anglophone schools, making post-secondary achievement the sole academic achievement indicator. This means changes in the performance of students in their first year of post-secondary studies have a significant impact on final ranks and grades.

St. Mary’s Academy took top spot. In the previous edition, no final grade could be computed because not enough graduates engaged in post-secondary studies to provide reliable post-secondary achievement results. Enough results were available for 2008/09 to include an average score for St. Mary’s Academy, which achieved second in absolute terms and fourth when adjusting for their circumstances. This, coupled with their continuing strong performance in keeping students engaged, allowed them to achieve the top spot and the only A.

Doaktown Consolidated High School moved up 11 spots and from a B to an A-, primarily due to the improvement of their graduates in post-secondary studies. Peticodiac Regional School fell from the top spot but improved from a B+ to an A-. Their fall from first to fourth is a consequence of other schools improving more significantly rather than a decline in their performance.

Chipman Forest Avenue School fell from the middle of the pack to the bottom, primarily due to newly included post-secondary participation rates; they have the third-lowest post-secondary participation rate. They also saw a decline in the average marks for graduates who did attend post-secondary studies.

New Brunswick francophone

New Brunswick francophone schools demonstrate little variation in performance; 20 of the 22 had grades between B and C+. No school is dominating in all aspects, and no school is down and out. This means that slight variations in performance can result in significant rank fluctuations. 

Saint John’s École aux Quatre Vents demonstrated slight improvements in post-secondary achievement and both provincial exams, which gave them the boost to first overall and the only B+.  

A final grade and rank for École Carrefour Beausoleil was available this year due to the inclusion of post-secondary achievement. Despite relatively poor performance on this indicator, their high performance with regard to provincial exams and keeping students engaged in learning earned them third overall spot and a B. École L’Odyssée remains at the bottom of the pack, primarily due to poor performance on provincial exams and post-secondary achievement.

Newfoundland and Labrador 

For the third year in a row, J.M. Olds Collegiate in Twillingate remained in the top spot and maintained its A-. Last year’s second- and third-ranked schools, Gonzaga High School in St. John’s and Bay d’Espoir in Milltown, both dropped in rankings, from second to sixth and third to 24th, respectively. In Gonzaga’s case, this is a result of 25 more schools receiving a final grade rather than of a decline in performance; Bay d’Espoir is due to a decline in performance. For the most part, these newly included schools received a final grade and rank because the post-secondary indicator was included for more schools.

Jane Collins Academy, last year’s third-last-ranked school, improved from a C to a B-. This is largely due to their significant improvement on provincial exams and post-secondary achievement. Appalachia High School remains at the bottom for the third straight year due to poor performance in keeping students engaged and training in essential competencies.

Nova Scotia English

After a three-year run at the top, Cape Breton Highlands Academy has been knocked off by Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional School, driven by their greatly improved top rank on post-secondary participation accompanied by continued strong performance in most other areas. Cape Breton Highlands Academy fell only slightly to second place and still demonstrates a great ability to keep students engaged in learning and train in essential competencies.

Charles P. Allen High School fell from second to eighth but is still achieving excellence in absolute terms, ranking second in engagement and achievement. This drop demonstrates they’re performing slightly worse considering their advantaged circumstances.

Oxford Regional High School falls from a C+ to a C- to find themselves at the bottom.  Despite their overall performance, they’re ranked second in the province with regard to their math provincial exam results.

Nova Scotia Conseil scolaire acadien provincial

We were unable to include 2008/09 data for Conseil scolaire acadien provincial schools, resulting in only one school meeting the requirements for a final grade and rank. These results represent the 2006/07 and 2007/08 school years. Look beneath the final ranks and grades to see how these schools performed in specific aspects of education delivery.

Prince Edward Island

The participation of Holland College for the first time infused the post-secondary achievement indicator for Prince Edward Island. Enough graduates’ results were available to double the number of schools with post-secondary achievement results from five to 10, allowing calculation of final grades and ranks for those 10 schools.  

Souris Regional School topped the ranks due to their high post-secondary achievement and school marks results. Kinkora Regional High School received the lowest grade, C-, due to having the worst post-secondary achievement and school marks results.  

A deeper understanding 

While comparing schools using this resource, a number of questions may arise. For answers or to gain a deeper understanding of the results, please see the 9th Annual Atlantic High School Report Card results and supporting materials document at www.AIMS.ca. We encourage everyone using these results to read this document. 

The next step is to use this resource to improve your schools. We hope you have many questions about why your school performs the way it does, and that you voice them to principals, superintendents, school board trustees, and education bureaucrats. Your concern and action is crucial to improving education in your schools and province.