Lots of data, but it tells a worrying story

While there are still gaps in the available data, Newfoundland and Labrador continues to provide the widest set of measures of both achievement and engagement in the region. A particularly strong system of standardized provincial examinations gives parents, students, teachers and the general public access to a rich set of achievement measures. And, in response to AIMS’ first report card only three years ago, access to that data is now available for all schools on-line with just a single click of a computer mouse.

Nevertheless, results are mixed in this year’s Report Card. 66% of schools assigned a final grade this year get marks of B or better. This is up from 47% just last year. But there are no A or A+ schools.

Additionally, while the new Report Card includes data for teacher-assigned grades (complementing the existing measures for provincial exams and post secondary achievement), it does not include an overall grade for 44 schools that did get a grade last year.

“Grades are based on a three year rolling average. If a school does not have at least two years of data for a particular measure, it will not receive a grade for that measure,” says Charles Cirtwill, vice president of AIMS. “In essence, those schools get an ‘Incomplete’. There are too many Incompletes in Newfoundland.”

The report card is published annually in Progress business magazine and a complete copy can be found as a centre insert in this month’s issue. This is the fourth year the magazine has dedicated an edition to the report card.

Overall, no school in the province achieves an A grade in RC4 and similarly no school receives a failing grade. The province’s leading school is Lakeside Academy in Buchans, earning an overall grade of B+. A number of schools make considerable improvements over the past year with Point Leamington Academy, Roncalli Central High in Point Saunders and Smallwood Academy in Gambo improving from C+ to B+, respectively. Gonzaga High School is the highest ranked school in St. John’s, earning a B grade with a particularly strong absolute performance.

At the bottom of the table, Jane Collins High School in Hare Bay improved from an F grade to a C grade. In contrast, St. Michael’s Regional High on Bell Island falls from a C to a D, and Mobile Central High falls from a B to a C.

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For further information, contact:

Charles Cirtwill
Co-author & AIMS vice president
902-489-7699

Rick Audas
Co-author
709-777-7395