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Whistler Secondary gets high score on Fraser Institute report card

Whistler Secondary Community School continues to score well on the controversial Fraser Institute’s annual report card for B.C.’s secondary schools.

Whistler Secondary Community School continues to score well on the controversial Fraser Institute’s annual report card for B.C.’s secondary schools.

This year Whistler’s high school was tied for third place among public schools for this region.

If private schools were added in Whistler Secondary tied for 10th place in the region.

"It is nice to be top, definitely, said Principal Bev Oakley.

But she is also cautious about the report as it only looks at one aspect of the school

"The danger of something like the Fraser Institute (report) is that it is a snapshot and it doesn’t reflect trends over time," she said.

Claremont Secondary School in Victoria was ranked first, with Mount Douglas Senior Secondary in Victoria second. Gulf Islands Secondary on Saltspring Island tied for third with Whistler.

Whistler Secondary’s overall rating was 7.7 again this year. In 2002 it was 6.4. It ranked 43 rd out of 279 schools with an average ranking of 55 th over five years.

The provincial average is 6.2.

"That 7.7 is a remarkably good score when you realize that it puts you in the top 20 per cent of schools in the province," said Peter Cowley, director of school performance studies at the Fraser Institute.

"It is a fairly rarified atmosphere that Whistler finds itself in.

"Since 1999 the school has pretty well knocked in half the percentage of exams failed and I think that is a very important indicator because that is really a basic thing.

"Your kids should be able to take these courses and pass them. This says: ‘We are mindful of everybody in the class and we make sure that at the least everybody can pass an objective assessment.’

"And that is very positive."

The Fraser Institute rankings remain controversial and stir up debate every year when they are released.

Not only is there the issue of class and school size when it comes to Whistler there is also the on-going criticism that the rankings do not take into consideration anything except Grade 12 exam results.

For each school eight different indicators of school performance are measured by the Fraser Institute.

• Average provincial examination mark.

• Percentage of provincial examinations failed.

• The difference between the school mark and examination mark in provincially examinable courses.

• The difference in performance between male and female students in English 12.

• The difference in performance between male and female students in Math 12.

• The number of provincially examinable courses taken per student.

• Graduation rate.

• The composite dropout rate.

From these statistics a rating for each of the eight school years, 1995/96 through 2002/2003, has been calculated.

In order to assist parents in comparing similar schools the report card notes the percentage of each school’s student body that are ESL students and the percentage that are special needs students.

"We have selected this set of indicators because they provide systematic insight into a school’s performance," said Cowley.

"Because they are based on annually generated data, we can assess not only each school’s performance in a year but also its improvement or deterioration over time."

Cowley accepts that the Fraser Institute report card is limited in its scope but he believes it is an important tool for anyone interested in B.C.’s education system.

For parents, said Cowley, it offers some measure of comparison of schools.

This is a useful tool as more and more often parents are able to choose between several schools for their children. The results are also useful for parents involved in the school, and school officials to help them target areas for improvement.

"This is a school that obviously is looking at results and results are important to this school," said Cowley of this year’s results in Whistler.

Principal Oakley cites several reasons for the school’s success. Amongst them are strong parent and community involvement, achievement-driven parents, and dedicated teachers.

"Parent involvement with the school and with their children in the school and involvement in the community… is one of the benchmarks of successful students and successful schools," she said.

This year’s basketball team is a case in point.

"Our basketball program this semester, for example, is completely parent and community run and it is really going well," said Oakley.

"Another one of our parents has started a photography club and what that does is bring the community into the school so when we call Whistler Secondary a community school it truly is."

Another advantage of having a small school is the individual attention students can get said Oakley.

But there is also a price to pay as smaller schools obviously receive less funding than their larger counterparts.

However, said Oakley, parent and community participation is striving to make up for shortfalls in non-academic areas.

Other schools in the district also improved in the Fraser Institute rankings.

Pemberton Secondary School ranked 247 out of 279 this year and received an overall rating out of 10 of 4.4. Last year the school was 273 out of 279 schools and got a rating of 2.1

Howe Sound Secondary ranked 168 out of the 279 schools province-wide this year. That’s up from 198 last year. Its rating also improved, moving from 5.6 last year to 6.0 this year.