Three of Squamish's elementary schools improved their ranking in the Fraser Institute's annual rankings of B.C. schools released this week, while two dropped in the rankings.
The institute's rankings, released on Monday (Feb. 6), saw Garibaldi Highlands Elementary School (GHES) continue to lead the way among Squamish schools in the academic rankings based on Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) results during the 2010-'11 school year.
GHES saw its ranking improve to 144th out of the 860 schools rated province-wide, up from an average ranking of 187th during the previous five years.
Valleycliffe Elementary School was second among the five Squamish schools with a 222nd-place ranking compared to a 261st-place ranking during the five years ending in 2009-'10. Brackendale Elementary School also saw its standing improve, from a 532nd-place average during the previous five years to 436th in 2010-'11.
Mamquam and Squamish elementaries both saw their rankings fall -Mamquam from a 352nd-place average in the previous five years to 380th last year, and Squamish from a 549th-place average during the previous five years to 655th in 2010-'11.
Whistler's Myrtle Philip Elementary School was among the 20 "fastest improving" schools in B.C. in the most recent rankings, coming in 54th in the overall rankings.
The Fraser Institute rankings are controversial. Many educators argue that FSA results are only one of many ways to measure academic achievement and are subject to demographic factors and the cultural biases that come with most types of standardized testing.
The rankings, though, "are the only objective, reliable tool to compare the academic performance of their child's school over time and to that of other schools in their community," Peter Cowley, Fraser Institute director of school performance studies, said in a statement.
