Montreal high schools make list of best in Quebec

The Fraser Institute released its annual ranking of Quebec high schools, and not surprisingly, private schools scored well. But many public schools were at the top of the class, including several from the English Montreal School Board.

Taking data from 463 schools across the province, the rankings are based on factors such as test results, gender gaps in test results of boys and girls, and whether students graduate on time.

In Montreal, Collège Saint-Louis, a public school, and École Pasteur, a private school, both scored a perfect score of 10.

But two EMSB schools, Royal West Academy, and Vincent Massey, made the top ten list of public schools in the province, with a score of 8.6 and 8 respectively.

While EMSB Board Chair congratulates the schools for making the list, he says they don’t place a lot of weight on the Fraser Institute’s ranking.

"When you're just comparing test results with private schools, where they have entrance exams and they get to take, you know, the students who score the highest to begin with, I think you're already setting, an imbalance there in those comparisons," he said.

A better indicator of success, Ortona said, is the graduation rate. He pointed out the EMSB has a 95.9 per cent graduation rate, the highest in the province.

"We actually surpassed the private schools last year," he said. "So that's an indication that the perception is wrong, that private schools, are actually better and provide a better education. we are actually proving them wrong."

But English Parents’ Committee president Katherine Korakakis said parents are paying attention to how schools rank when they’re making a selection for their child. She said there’s a lot of competition for spots in some schools, but not every school is suited to every child.

"Go to the open houses. Speak to the teachers and the educators," she said. "But an important component is to talk to parents that have their children there already. What's the support like? What is the culture like? What is the homework policy like? What are the extracurriculars like? There's a lot to be said from individual parents’ experience."