The annual Fraser Institute elementary school rankings were released over the weekend and my school placed 547th out of 649. On their 10 point rating scale we scored 4.3, which apparently means that we failed.
My school, which comprises a vibrant and culturally rich population of students, includes 15% English Language Learners, 26% with supported learning programs, 25% with a First Nations Metis and Inuit background, and 47% in the French Immersion stream. We provide breakfast and lunch to about 50 students every day, waive school fees for a number of families, and regularly bring interpreters in for parent/teacher conferences.
The Fraser Institute describes themselves as an organization that uses ”objective, publicly available data to rank and compare schools.” In other words, the schools with the highest average marks on our provinces Grade 3 and 6 Provincial Achievement Tests are ranked at the top. Although not supported by the Education Ministry, the results are heavily published and lure parents into believing that some schools are better than others merely because students did a superior job of completing a standardized bubble test.
Last October, like all schools in Alberta, we received our Accountability Pillar Report Card and our PAT results were our best ever. Not only did we have a 100% participation rate (the province is around 90%) but 84.2% of tests written received the “acceptable standard.” The provincial average was 79.1%. For us, this was a huge accomplishment because first of all we never usually pay much attention to the PATs, and secondly we have never surpassed the provincial average, let alone by over 5 percentage points. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves right up until this past Saturday when we were quickly brought back to reality. The reason, by the way, why we come out so low on the Fraser Institute Report is because they rank based on average test score and not percentage of tests passed. Many of our students passed the test but not by a lot. It’s the Fraser Institutes spin on the numbers. You can take a look at our report card below:
So what about all those “other things” that are not taken into consideration by the Fraser Institute? You know, things like providing a safe and caring learning environment where all students are cherished and achieve their potential. Things like parental involvement and citizenship. Things like continual school improvement and relevant student engagement. What about providing an inclucive learning environment that meets the needs of every student? My teachers work as an amazing collaborative team every day to not only teach the curriculum, but also to build in their students the qualities of ethical and active 21st century citizenship. It’s unfortunate that much of this goes unnoticed because of the work of right-libertarian think tanks like the Fraser Institute.
This timeline and this short video outlines the many initiatives that make my school so amazing. I invite you to take a look. This stuff can’t be measured on a standardized test. If it could, I’m sure we’d be a bit better than 547th.
So I want to say this to those who work so tirelessly to collect and disaggregate the PAT data in such a way that leaves out much of what really counts in our schools today. What sucks is the percieved importance placed on these tests and your reports.
Greg
I know you read my last blog where I commented on where my school was on the list. I took no strong pride that we were rated 10 out of 10 for the same reasons you articulated. There are so many things that can’t be properly measured through a standardized test and I agree that it’s farcical that people do put such a strong importance on it. I am far more interested in the holistic view of education that I know is so vibrant and alive at your school. While I may be censured for making these types of comments, I hope you do NOT change your approach. You are one of the strongest instructional leaders I know and I am certain that the students who leave your school are greatly enriched from being there. Stay the course and keep raising the bar the way you so obviously do.
We have the same problem here in Ontario, you are not alone
Aren’t your teachers and students lucky to have a caring principal that recognizes that tests and reports don’t always measure what really matters.
Perfect example why any ONE score/number cannot be the sole measure of success. There is stability from at least “triangulated” data, even though it is still not perfect!
Your kids and teachers are lucky to have you,as both a support and a buffer zone against scores.
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Greg – sounds so familiar. We continue to improve at Kent but we are ranked 810/860 or something like that. The sad part is that the ranking is based on our FSA scores… and parents have the option of exempting their child. This year only 52% of our students wrote it… all but one were meeting expectations but the students who did not write (when the FI does their calculation) get lumped in with those not yet meeting. The worst part is that parents actually look at these rankings and although we can explain our low SES and other challenges… it still hurts the pride and the morale of the school. These rankings got me so fired up it started my blogging career 3 years ago! http://chriswejr.com/2010/02/04/a-deeper-look-into-school-rankings/
I feel your pain and frustration… fingers crossed that one day people look back and go “I cannot believe we used to rank schools – their students, staff, and families”.
Thank you so much for this comment, Chris. It means a lot coming from you. As I sit here this evening watching American Idol, I can’t help but wonder how these amazingly talented individuals did on their schools achievement tests. I would suspect that it was not a priority to them.
Unfortunately, because of the high stakes testing regime that is prevalent in much of North America, many students never find their talents and passions. I stand with you in hoping that one day things will be different. Thanks again.
It is often the “hidden curriculum” that matters the most. How wonderful it is that you have this social media avenue to voice the true merits of your learning community!