Of the top 50 schools in the Fraser Institute’s ranking, 27 are independent schools and 23 are public schools, located in 26 different cities and towns across the province including Gibsons, Revelstoke, Courtenay, Summerland, Kamloops and Trail.
This year, 34 schools showed statistically significant declines in performance over the past four years, and an equal number showed statistically significant improvement.
The top three elementary schools include West Vancouver’s Cedardale, Vancouver’s Crofton House and Surrey’s Diamon schools. The secondary schools that topped the list were Vancouver’s York House, Crofton House and Little Flower.
Notably, 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.
“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 Peter Cowley, director of school performance studies at the Fraser Institute.
This year’s Report Card ranks 253 public and independent secondary schools based on seven academic indicators using student results from annual province-wide exams, grade-to-grade transition rates, and graduation rates.
“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 said.
For the complete results on all ranked schools, and to easily compare the performance of different schools, visit www.compareschoolrankings.org.
Elementary school
Top 20
2016-17 Rank |
Rank in the most recent five years |
Trend |
School Name |
City |
2016-17 Rating |
Rating in the most recent five years |
1/946 |
1/811 |
— |
Cedardale |
West Vancouver |
10 |
10 |
1/946 |
1/811 |
— |
Crofton House |
Vancouver |
10 |
10 |
1/946 |
1/811 |
— |
Diamond |
Surrey |
10 |
10 |
1/946 |
1/811 |
— |
Holy Cross |
Burnaby |
10 |
10 |
1/946 |
1/811 |
— |
Our Lady Of Mercy |
Burnaby |
10 |
10 |
1/946 |
1/811 |
— |
Southridge |
Surrey |
10 |
10 |
1/946 |
1/811 |
— |
St George’s |
Vancouver |
10 |
10 |
1/946 |
1/811 |
— |
Vancouver College |
Vancouver |
10 |
10 |
1/946 |
1/811 |
— |
West Point Grey |
Vancouver |
10 |
10 |
1/946 |
1/811 |
— |
York House |
Vancouver |
10 |
10 |
1/946 |
11/811 |
▲ |
Corpus Christi |
Vancouver |
10 |
9.9 |
1/946 |
13/811 |
▲ |
Meadowridge |
Maple Ridge |
10 |
9.8 |
1/946 |
13/811 |
— |
Our Lady Of Perpetual Help |
Vancouver |
10 |
9.8 |
1/946 |
13/811 |
— |
Our Lady Of Sorrows |
Vancouver |
10 |
9.8 |
1/946 |
13/811 |
— |
West Bay |
West Vancouver |
10 |
9.8 |
1/946 |
18/811 |
— |
St Paul’s |
Richmond |
10 |
9.7 |
1/946 |
24/811 |
— |
St Augustine’s |
Vancouver |
10 |
9.4 |
1/946 |
24/811 |
▲ |
St John’s |
Vancouver |
10 |
9.4 |
1/946 |
41/811 |
— |
St Edmund’s |
North Vancouver |
10 |
9.1 |
1/946 |
84/811 |
— |
Surrey Muslim |
Surrey |
10 |
8.2 |
1/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Cornerstone Montessori |
Surrey |
10 |
n/a |
Worst 20
2016-17 Rank |
Rank in the most recent five years |
Trend |
School Name |
City |
2016-17 Rating |
Rating in the most recent five years |
926/946 |
791/811 |
▼ |
Lena Shaw |
Surrey |
1.9 |
3.3 |
926/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Kispiox |
Hazelton |
1.9 |
n/a |
928/946 |
769/811 |
▼ |
Discovery |
Shawnigan Lake |
1.8 |
3.8 |
928/946 |
798/811 |
— |
Ron Brent |
Prince George |
1.8 |
2.8 |
930/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Salmon Arm West |
Salmon Arm |
1.6 |
n/a |
931/946 |
778/811 |
▼ |
Douglas Park |
Langley |
1.5 |
3.7 |
932/946 |
805/811 |
— |
Norgate |
North Vancouver |
1.4 |
2.1 |
932/946 |
806/811 |
▼ |
Georgia Avenue |
Nanaimo |
1.4 |
1.9 |
932/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Cedar |
Campbell River |
1.4 |
n/a |
932/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Haahuupayak |
Port Alberni |
1.4 |
n/a |
932/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Ray Watkins |
Gold River |
1.4 |
n/a |
937/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Dragon Lake |
Quesnel |
1.3 |
n/a |
938/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Cassie Hall |
Terrace |
1.2 |
n/a |
939/946 |
802/811 |
— |
Glenwood |
Maple Ridge |
1 |
2.4 |
940/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Brechin |
Nanaimo |
0.8 |
n/a |
941/946 |
809/811 |
— |
Bayview |
Nanaimo |
0.3 |
1.4 |
942/946 |
811/811 |
— |
Aboriginal Choice |
Prince George |
0 |
0.3 |
942/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Canyon/Lister |
Canyon |
0 |
n/a |
942/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Kitwanga |
Kitwanga |
0 |
n/a |
942/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Lax Kw’alaams |
Lax Kw’alaams |
0 |
n/a |
942/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Riverview |
Quesnel |
0 |
n/a |
Secondary school
Top 20
2016-17 Rank |
Rank in the most recent five years |
Trend |
School Name |
City |
2016-17 Rating |
Rating in the most recent five years |
1/253 |
1/246 |
— |
York House |
Vancouver |
10 |
10 |
1/253 |
2/246 |
▲ |
Crofton House |
Vancouver |
10 |
9.9 |
1/253 |
2/246 |
▲ |
Little Flower |
Vancouver |
10 |
9.9 |
1/253 |
4/246 |
— |
Southridge |
Surrey |
10 |
9.8 |
1/253 |
4/246 |
▲ |
St George’s |
Vancouver |
10 |
9.8 |
1/253 |
6/246 |
▲ |
Collingwood |
West Vancouver |
10 |
9.7 |
7/253 |
6/246 |
— |
West Point Grey |
Vancouver |
9.9 |
9.7 |
7/253 |
8/246 |
— |
Richmond Christian |
Richmond |
9.9 |
9.1 |
9/253 |
8/246 |
— |
Brentwood College |
Mill Bay |
9.8 |
9.1 |
10/253 |
12/246 |
— |
Mulgrave |
West Vancouver |
9.7 |
9 |
11/253 |
8/246 |
— |
Shawnigan Lake |
Shawnigan Lake |
9.3 |
9.1 |
11/253 |
12/246 |
— |
St John’s |
Vancouver |
9.3 |
9 |
11/253 |
21/246 |
▲ |
Stratford Hall |
Vancouver |
9.3 |
8.3 |
14/253 |
8/246 |
— |
Glenlyon Norfolk |
Victoria |
9.2 |
9.1 |
15/253 |
17/246 |
▲ |
King David |
Vancouver |
9.1 |
8.5 |
16/253 |
15/246 |
— |
Meadowridge |
Maple Ridge |
8.8 |
8.7 |
17/253 |
22/246 |
— |
Pacific Academy |
Surrey |
8.7 |
8.2 |
18/253 |
17/246 |
— |
St Thomas More |
Burnaby |
8.6 |
8.5 |
19/253 |
14/246 |
— |
St Michaels |
Victoria |
8.4 |
8.9 |
19/253 |
65/246 |
▲ |
Seaquam |
Delta |
8.4 |
6.9 |
942/946 |
n/a |
n/a |
Riverview |
Quesnel |
0 |
n/a |
Worst 20
2016-17 Rank |
Rank in the most recent five years |
Trend |
School Name |
City |
2016-17 Rating |
Rating in the most recent five years |
233/253 |
232/246 |
— |
Westsyde |
Kamloops |
3.1 |
3.9 |
233/253 |
235/246 |
— |
Charles Bloom |
Lumby |
3.1 |
3.6 |
235/253 |
220/246 |
— |
Edward Milne |
Sooke |
3 |
4.2 |
235/253 |
226/246 |
▼ |
Langley |
Langley |
3 |
4.1 |
237/253 |
238/246 |
▼ |
Byrne Creek |
Burnaby |
2.9 |
3.4 |
238/253 |
n/a |
n/a |
Royal Bay |
Victoria |
2.8 |
n/a |
239/253 |
76/246 |
▼ |
Highroad |
Chilliwack |
2.7 |
6.7 |
239/253 |
212/246 |
— |
John Oliver |
Vancouver |
2.7 |
4.5 |
239/253 |
n/a |
n/a |
Cedar |
Nanaimo |
2.7 |
n/a |
242/253 |
212/246 |
▼ |
Mount Sentinel |
South Slocan |
2.6 |
4.5 |
242/253 |
229/246 |
— |
Fort Nelson |
Fort Nelson |
2.6 |
4 |
244/253 |
240/246 |
— |
Port Hardy |
Port Hardy |
2.5 |
3.1 |
244/253 |
244/246 |
— |
Merritt |
Merritt |
2.5 |
2.8 |
246/253 |
233/246 |
▼ |
Britannia |
Vancouver |
2.4 |
3.8 |
247/253 |
226/246 |
▼ |
Belmont |
Victoria |
2.3 |
4.1 |
248/253 |
220/246 |
— |
Sparwood |
Sparwood |
2.1 |
4.2 |
249/253 |
246/246 |
— |
Hazelton |
Hazelton |
2 |
1.2 |
250/253 |
229/246 |
▼ |
Gulf Islands |
Salt Spring Island |
1.9 |
4 |
250/253 |
240/246 |
▼ |
Chetwynd |
Chetwynd |
1.9 |
3.1 |
252/253 |
245/246 |
— |
John Barsby |
Nanaimo |
1.3 |
1.9 |
253/253 |
243/246 |
— |
Fort St James |
Fort St James |
0.6 |
3 |