PICTOU– Out of Pictou County’s three high schools, Pictou Academy ranked highest in the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies annual report card for high schools.
Pictou Academy came in solidly in the middle of the list with an overall ranking of 30th out of 55 ranked schools, while Northumberland Regional High School was further down in the list, 49th out of 55 schools. North Nova Education Centre was not ranked because not all of the information AIMS uses to evaluate the schools was provided for the high school.
But even with Pictou Academy’s B- rating, it still did poorly in a number of categories, and that’s a concern for principal Jim Ryan. In the attendance category, for instance, the school ended up with an F grade.
Pictou Academy ranked high in Grade 10s moving on and post-secondary achievement, receiving an A+ in both categories.
The school also ranked high with its provincial exam marks, particularly the A- for language arts and the B+ for math.
“The exam data is real data without outside factors involved,” said Ryan. “It’s showing that when our students reach Grade 12, they’re writing strong exams.”
Ryan says Pictou Academy staff will be taking a detailed look at the report to see if there are areas where the school can improve.
The full report card can be viewed at http://aims.wpengine.com/site/media/aims/RC7.pdf.
