Halifax – The overall message of AIMS seventh Annual Report Card on Atlantic Canadian High Schools is that things appear to be getting better. Although in PEI, the authors are not so sure.

“Schools are getting better,” says AIMS Research Manager Bobby O’Keefe. “Not everywhere and not every year but the early indications are that even schools with some of the worst grades in the early years are moving up over time.”

However, this year several schools in Prince Edward Island miss out on a final grade due to a lack of information on the achievement of students at university and community college. Unfortunately, Freedom of Information laws do not apply to the Island’s publicly funded post-secondary institutions. This has allowed the University of Prince Edward Island to opt out of providing data for this report.

As a result of this lack of information, two of the top three schools from last year’s report card do not receive a final grade this year, including last year’s top school, Souris Regional High School. Charlottetown Rural High School maintains its ‘B’ grade and second spot in the rankings. No school saw a significant single year change in its overall grade.

Despite its small number of schools even Prince Edward Island has a success story, with Kensington Intermediate-Senior High climbing from a ‘C+’ to a ‘B’ over the past three years to claim the highest grade of all Prince Edward Island schools receiving a final grade in this year’s report.

Whether the successes we see in the overall trends are due to fundamental changes at the schools, a change in staff, or the statistically unlikely scenario that parents are only sending the overachieving kids to school, the AIMS Report Card does not and can not say. The AIMS Report Card is a descriptive tool only, meant to encourage informed engagement by the school community with the school. Now it is up to those who want to learn from or continue the early successes to ask the right questions and apply the lessons learned.

The report card is published annually in Progress magazine and a complete copy can be found as a centre insert in the latest issue. This is the seventh year the magazine has dedicated an edition to AIMS’ high school report card.

To view the complete 7th Annual Report Card for Atlantic Canadian High Schools, click here.

To view the final grades for Prince Edward Island, click here.

To learn more about the high school report card, click here.

Follow this link to AIMS’ Online Interactive Report Card.

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For more information, contact:

Bobby O’Keefe, Research Manager
902-429-1143 or 902-222-0944

Charles Cirtwill, Executive Vice President
902-429-1143 or 902-489-7699