Halifax – Newfoundland and Labrador continues to lead Atlantic Canada with the largest percentage of high schools scoring B grades or better; 60%. That figure is down slightly from last year’s 66% but continues to be substantially better than the rest of the region.

 

Newfoundland and Labrador has consistently made the effort necessary to improve accountability. Since the release of the initial AIMS Report Card five years ago it has made a concerted effort to improve stakeholder information and that has paid dividends but there are still too few schools scoring top marks.

 

Only one school, Dorset Collegiate in Pilley’s Island scored an A and no school received an A+. Given the strong system of data collection and dissemination that allows parents, students, teachers and the general public access to a rich set of performance measures these results could be better.

 

No school’s final grade changed by more than one grade level meaning that while there has been no significant drop in performance there has been no substantial improvement either.  

 

“The trend in Newfoundland and Labrador seems to be stability,” says Charles Cirtwill, Report Card co-author and AIMS acting president. “There are no failing final grades but there are also few schools making marked improvements.”

 

Three of the top four schools in the province; Dorset Collegiate, Fogo Island Central Academy and Dunne Memorial Academy all improved a grade over last year’s results while third ranked St. Joseph’s Academy went from no final grade last year to a solid B+. Gonzaga High School returns as the highest ranked school in St. John’s, improving on last year’s B with a B+ this year.

 

On the other hand, Jane Collins High School in Hare Bay dropped from a C grade to a D this year. E.A. Butler in McKay’s is the only other school in Newfoundland and Labrador with a D (it did not receive a final grade last year).

 

Individual report cards were mailed to every high school, parent-teacher association, student council and school board in the region to help them assess how their schools are doing.

 

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. AIMS Report Card 5 is based on data from the school years 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2004-05.

 

AIMS also provides an on-line report card on its website (www.aims.ca) which provides parents, students teachers and anyone else interested the opportunity to do some in-depth review of a school’s results.

 

“Last year our on-line report card received over a quarter of a million hits on the first day it was posted. That amount of traffic to our website proves that people are interested in this report card and want to know how it can be used to improve our public schools,” says Cirtwill. “Ultimately we hope the information will be used to push for reform and improvements for our students.”

 

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 fifth year the magazine has dedicated an edition to the AIMS’ Report Card.

 

Complete results for Newfoundland and Labrador, click here

 

-30-

 

For more information, contact:

 

Charles Cirtwill, AIMS (acting) President

902-489-7699

 

Barbara Pike, AIMS Director of Communications

902-429-1143 ext 227  / 902-452-1172