The Phoenix Alternative High School Graduating Class of 2006.
(Photo:Martin Alarie)
Phoenix Alternative High School scores high marks in annual Fraser Institute Report Card on Quebec's Secondary Schools
But controversial study still provokes heavy criticism from public school educators
Love it or hate it but you just can't leave it. It's here again, the annual Report Card on Quebec's Secondary Schools.
Produced by the Fraser Institute in collaboration with the Montreal Economic Institute and published in its entirety in L'Actualite, the report ranks Québec High Schools according to their academic performance, with the latest version (relating to the 2004-2005 school year) listing 458 institutions, public and private.
According to the Fraser Institute, the report "collects a variety of relevant, objective indicators of school performance into one, easily accessible public document so that anyone can analyze and compare the performance of individual schools."
"By doing so," claim the authors of the report, "the Report Card on Quebec's Secondary Schools assists parents when they choose a school for their children and encourages and assists all those seeking to improve their schools."
In Laval
Although private schools in Laval and across the rest of the province took top spots in the Institute's annual rankings, a public school in Laval – Phoenix Alternative High School of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board scored exceptionally high marks in a new category, that of schools which help students who are older than their grade level in their last two years of high school. The published report ranked Phoenix second in this category, defined as 'schools with more than 50% of such older-age students'.
The overall rankings show 15 Laval island schools listed among the 458 from across Québec. Of the 15, a dozen are French, 3 are English. These three English schools, Western Laval (now Laval Liberty High School), Laval Catholic (Now Laurier Senior High School) and Phoenix Alternative School are public sector institutions administered by the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board.
Of the 12 French schools, 9 are in the public sector administered by the Commssion scolaire de Laval. Collège Laval, Collège Letendre and Ècole Vanguard are the three private schools on Laval island.
Topping the list of the 15 Laval island schools is Collège Laval, with the French private school ranking at number 20 out of the 458 Quebec schools listed. The Commission scolaire de Laval's Ecole Internationale, ranked at number 27 in the province, tops the list of the 12 public schools in Laval.
The description of the international school as a public institution is somewhat misleading since it subscribes more to practices characteristic of private institutions than public ones, i.e. – entrance exams and selective recruiting based on a number of factors, including previous academic performance at earlier levels of education.
The best of the rest
Places three to 15 on the Laval island table are filled by schools ranging in overall Québec standing of 137 (Ècole Georges Vanier) to 438 (Ècole le Virage).
Phoenix Alternative School, which provides academic programs for students experiencing difficulty in a normal school context, ranked 400.
Significantly, the Laurier Board school also showed one of the largest rates of improvement among all Laval schools, second only to Western Laval High School (now Laval Liberty High School), relative to past performance.
Principal Jennifer Kurta attributed the high ranking and improvement to several factors, chief among which, she says, is the total commitment of the staff to the academic success of the 100 or so students that enroll at the school.
"With a small close-working group of professionals who are dedicated to the nth degree, a mentoring program that encourages student commitment to their own learning, guidance and feedback on a consistent basis featuring weekly report cards for each student, and an understanding that our students do not have to be here unless they choose to be, these are the major reasons why Phoenix Alternative High School is moving in the right direction," Ms. Kurta told Courrier Laval Weekly News in a telephone interview just a few hours after the 2006 Report Card was made public.
Rankings questioned
Principal Glenn Cuggy of Laurier Senior High School perceives the report as seriously flawed. "It simply does not reflect the success of a school," he says, adding that he puts more credence in school board assessment of the success of a school than in a province-wide ranking that in his view "measures apples and oranges".
When asked to comment on the relative merits of his school ranking about 50 places behind Western Laval – (now Laval Liberty High School), the other senior level Laurier Board school on Laval island, Mr. Cuggy was emphatic about respecting the many variables that make up a school community and which in his opinion no oversimplified standardized measurement can assess fairly.
"It's really not fair to cite these figures as a true or best indication of the work that public schools accomplish," Mr. Cuggy told Courrier Laval Weekly News, adding that the two English senior high schools on Laval island have their own respective communities with their own diversities to serve.
"We are colleagues with strongly similar commitments to a common mission of providing quality education in the process of nurturing the needs of our diversified clienteles, and we should not engage in comparisons which serve no purpose," Mr. Cuggy concluded.
By their own admission, the authors of the annual report do concede that although the Report Card does provide a detailed picture of each school that is not easily available elsewhere, it is limited in scope because it does omit important factors. "Naturally," say the authors, "a sound academic program should be complemented by effective programs in areas of school activity not measured by the Report Card."
Principal Eric Ruggi of Laval Liberty High School took the news of his school's 7th place ranking on Laval island as an indication that things were moving in the right direction.
"We are always looking for the ways and means by which to provide the best education possible, against odds and limitations which can sometime seem insurmountable," Mr. Ruggi told Courrier Laval Weekly News in a telephone interview. Regardless of where we rank, it is important to gage in what direction we are going. The goal is to improve on past performance, and that I think is the best indicator of the work done by all members of the school community."
Asked to comment on his school's rise from 265 (2001-2005) to 217 for the latest rankings, Mr. Ruggi described the improvement as an affirmation of the school's mission to challenge young people with opportunities for learning. "We have a diversified school community of many ethnic origins and various levels of family income and education, but it's all part of the responsibility placed by society in the hands of the public school to educate and help form everyone who comes to its doors. Yes, the numbers are somewhat indicative of how we are doing academically, but don't underestimate the value and power of many other factors, countless intangibles which can never be accurately measured," Mr. Ruggi concluded.
The Report Card
Of the 15 Laval schools ranked for 2005, 12 (80%) declined in comparison with their average of the previous five years. Only three raised their ranking, with the most significant improvement scored by Western Laval (now Laval Liberty).
Of the three private schools (Collège Laval, Collège Letendre, Ècole Vanguard) two dropped substantially and one showed slight improvement. Collège Laval scored among the top 30 schools in the entire province, public and private institutions included. Collège Letendre ranked 150, and Ècole Vanguard 425.
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