How can I check my child’s school and district board ranking?
- Check the Fraser Institute’s Annual School Report Cards (Ontario 2016 Elementary School Report Card)
- The Fraser Institute compiles lists on how Ontario elementary and secondary schools rank based on publicly-available data such as EQAO test results. The aim is to see “How well our schools are teaching our kids?” The reports identify areas of improvement and see if schools are improving.
- Ontario Average is 6/10
All 2015-2016 rankings are available at:
Elementary: http://ontario.compareschoolrankings.org/elementary/SchoolsByRankLocationName.aspx
Secondary: http://ontario.compareschoolrankings.org/secondary/SchoolsByRankLocationName.aspx
How are the current elementary schools performing in Kitchener-Waterloo? Is my child’s school falling behind?
Kitchener primary schools rank at an average of 5.6/10 which is lower than the Provincial Average.
The numbers are alarming. Approximately 1/3 of schools (16 out of 51) are ranked in the BOTTOM quartile of the entire province, with school scores go as low as 2.3/10.
Bottom five Kitchener schools:
- Rockway 2.3
- Howard Robertson 2.4
- J F Carmichael 2.8
- Trillium 3.1
- Queen Elizabeth 3.3
Waterloo primary schools’ average rank is 6.9/10 which is higher than the Provincial Average. However, several schools still fall significantly under the average.
Bottom five Waterloo schools:
- Lincoln Heights 4.2
- Cedarbrae 4.3
- Sandowne 4.7
- Keatsway 4.8
- Winston Churchill 5.0
How are the overall EQAO results?
Now, let’s compare not only between the schools but take a look at the province as a whole and the 5-year progression.
Results of the EQAO in the past 5 years have seen a downward trend in Mathematics in both the Primary (Gr. 3) Division and Junior (Gr. 6) Division. Also, there was a decrease in Writing at the Primary level last year.
The chart below shows the Percentage of All Grade 3 Students at or Above the Provincial Standard.
Primary Divison
The chart below shows the Percentage of All Grade 6 Students at or Above the Provincial Standard.
Junior Division
Since several schools in Kitchener and Waterloo fall below the Provincial averages coinciding with students falling behind the Provincial target results overall, more of our kids are being left behind and the gap is widening.
Full results are available at:
How are Secondary Schools in WRDSB stacking up?
Seven out of 16 secondary schools fall below the provincial average of 6/10.
However, if you look at the rankings for 2015-16, nine schools are ranked in the bottom half of the provincial rankings. That is more than half of the high schools!
In the News
Most articles try to put it gently.
With one article from CBC News titled,
“Waterloo Region District School Board EQAO results below provincial average, vows to do better”
And some articles’ standards of “scoring well” are biased and report on the well-performing schools while casually mentioning the many schools whose students are falling below the provincial standard.
Schools are not a one-stop solution!
The public education system in K-W is not a one-stop solution for your child’s learning development. Children’s learning is not limited from 8am-3pm. The learning must be extended after school and in the home for your child.
Consider this quote from a local article, “We have a very good tradition in North America of reading to our kids at home, but how many of us do math with our kids at home?”
SOLUTIONS to help bridge the gaps in your child’s education
- There are tons of resources online available for free to supplement the current school curriculum. Whether your child is looking to satisfy their curiosity and exceed in class or struggling to catch up, these resources will help their learning.
For all subjects, age levels, and completely free!
Specifically for math starting from Algebra to Calculus.
- Enroll in an after-school program with passionate teachers to develop children’s core skills such as Mathematics and to stretch new cognitive abilities through subjects like Coding and Robotics.
- Join community groups centered around supporting your children’s education. Support each other in your community by sharing ways you enhance your child’s education. Some local community groups include KW Parents for Education.
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