Guelph’s Centennial CVI was one of the top-ranked high schools in the province according to province-wide school comparisons made by the Fraser Institute think tank.
In a report released on Thursday, the institute ranked Centennial CVI the highest among Guelph or Wellington County high schools for the 2021/2022 school year. With a grade of 8.6 out of a possible 10, Centennial placed 22nd of 689 Ontario public, Catholic and independent secondary schools.
The rankings are based on average provincial test scores, tests with results below the standard, gender gaps and the number of Grade 9 provincial tests not written.
Three local high schools ranked in the top 100 – Centennial CVI at 22nd, Guelph CVI at 59th and Bishop Macdonell at 77th.
“The act of publicly rating and ranking schools attracts attention and this can provide motivation. Schools that perform well or show consistent improvement are applauded. Poorly performing schools generate concern, as do those whose performance is deteriorating,” the report states. “This inevitable attention provides an incentive for all those connected with a school to focus on student results.”
Centennial’s score was up from 8.4 in 2019 and 8.3 in 2018.
Rounding out Guelph high schools are:
- Guelph CVI at 8.3 (7.7 in 2019 and 7.8 in 2018)
- Bishop Macdonell CHS at 7.9 (7.7 in 2019 and 8 in 2018)
- John F. Ross CVI at 7.7 (same in 2019 and 8.3 in 2018)
- St. James at 6.6 (5.9 in 2019 and 7.6 in 2018)
- Lourdes CHS at 5.8 (7 in 2019 and 7.6 in 2018).
Erin District HS claimed the top spot in Wellington County, with a score of 7.3, which is down from 7.9 in 2019 and eight in 2018. It ranked 167th of the high schools scored.
Other county high schools include:
- Centre Wellington DHS in Fergus at 6.7 (7.9 in 2019 and 7.1 in 2018)
- Wellington Heights HS in Mount Forest at 6.5 (five in 2019 and 4.6 in 2018)
- Norwell DSS in Palmerston at five (6.1 in 2019 and 5.4 in 2018).
“Our report cards offer parents information they can’t easily get anywhere else, about how their child’s school performs and how it compares to other schools in Ontario,” said Peter Cowley, a Fraser Institute senior fellow, in a news release.
“It doesn’t matter where a school is ranked, or what challenges its students may face. The evidence is clear — all types of schools, located all over the province with different types of students, are all capable of improvement.”
