How to use Fraser school rankings in your home search
The Fraser Institute ranks schools in each province based on academic performance. School rankings in your district can impact the value, cost, and demand of the home you’re considering –– so they’re a worthy consideration even if you don’t have children. Here’s how you can use Fraser Institute School Rankings to understand the ranking of a school and how it could affect the real estate you’re considering.
How can I check school rankings in my area?
You can explore school rankings for local schools right on the property detail page on houseful.ca. Explore schools assigned to each property or filter your property search results to find homes assigned to schools above a certain ranking in your search area. This allows you to easily find the highest ranking schools in the areas you’re considering.
How can I tell if a school’s ranking is good?
The Fraser Institute rankings are designed to have an average value of six and demonstrate where a school lands in comparison to the average of all rated schools. A low ranking doesn’t signify a pass or fail like a report card would. The ranking simply tells you if a school’s ranking is below average (under six) or above average (over six). Remember that each school is only being rated with schools that match the ranking criteria, so not every school in the area is included. In a similar sense, a ranking of 10 means a school ranks well above average but doesn’t signify a “perfect score”–– it’s just demonstrating that the school lands above average in their scoring against other rated schools.
How does the Fraser Institute rank schools?
The Fraser Institute uses publicly-available data supplied by the provincial education ministry to create report cards for Canadian schools. These reports compile results like standardized testing results, average scores on provincial testing, and other information provided by the provincial education ministry.
How are schools ranked?
The Fraser Institute offers detailed tables that assess each school’s performance over a set number of years. In each province, standardized tests are given to students in subjects like math, reading, writing, language arts, and science. The year the tests are administered varies for each province; for example, in British Columbia students are tested in grades 4, 7, 10, 11, and 12, and in Ontario they are done in grades 3, 6, and 9 –– in addition to a literacy test in secondary school. You can see what the ranking criteria for your province is by entering your location on the Fraser Institute School Rankings site and checking out the FAQ page for that province.
Why are some schools not included in Fraser Institute rankings?
The Fraser Institute has a set of requirements that determine whether a school can be included in their ranking system. These vary for each province, with specific requirements like class sizes, or province wide testing results received for the school. Since the Fraser Institute ranking system uses information collected from the Ministry of Education and tests taken by students, there’s a minimum amount of data required to include a school in the ranking. The schools included in the ranking system are also determined by the year the test is administered in each province.
To learn about requirements for your province, visit the Fraser Institute website, select the province, and visit the FAQ page to read through detailed information for your province.
Where can I find results for a school not listed in the Fraser Institute Results?
If you’re looking for results for an unlisted school, try visiting the Education Quality and Accountability Office online; this organization is responsible for the EQAO tests regularly administered in Canadian elementary and secondary schools, and can offer an outline of the result rankings for the school you’re considering. The Ministry of Education for each province also shares test results and data on schools.
How much should school rankings affect where I choose to live or send my kids?
School rankings are specifically based on the academic performance of a school compared to other schools in the ranking system. An enriching education includes extracurricular programs, the community of the local school, the involvement of the teachers, parental involvement, and other factors. School rankings only tell part of the story, and don’t capture the more qualitative measures of a great education. Some students have brilliant minds but don’t perform well on standardized tests, so a holistic approach can help to paint the big picture.
- Visit the school and explore the community you’re considering and talk to other parents and open houses to get a sense of what the educators at the school are like and may be able to offer your family.
- Since the Fraser Institute rankings often exclude schools with small class sizes (in most provinces classes with under 10 students are excluded), it’s also worth considering the benefits a smaller class size or what an alternative school could offer your children.
- Some schools with lower school rankings may have a great sports team, musical theatre program, or programs for children with special needs; so the rankings are only a small part of what makes a school or neighbourhood the right choice for you.
What else should I consider while looking at Fraser Institute School Rankings?
Some schools will attempt to improve their rankings by encouraging lower performing students not to take exams. Fraser takes this into account in most listings, so look for the indicator that displays how many tests were written and how many could have been based on the number of students enrolled. The rankings also take into account five years of test results. Note the ranking period because some schools may have declining or improving results since the last ranking period. If a school has insufficient data for ranking, you’ll see “n/a” displayed next to the school. When you’re considering a school with a smaller class size, keep in mind that one low result could dramatically bring down the overall average. Consider more long-term ranking results for schools with smaller class sizes.
Looking for a new home?
Use the Houseful school ranking filters to explore options within your price range and compare homes, neighbourhoods, and options.
Find more information on how to buy a home, how to sell your home, and mortgage and finance tips, see our Home Journey How-To’s or sign up at houseful.ca.
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