Jasper elementary just about average

Canadian think-tank the Fraser Institute has published its annual elementary school report card, which has ranked schools provincially since 2002. 

Out of 715 elementary schools in Alberta, Jasper Elementary finished at 409 with a 5.9 out of 10 rating for 2008. According to the Fraser Institute, a rating of 6 is around the provincial average, so Jasper Elementary appears to be in line with many other schools in the province. 

In 2007, Jasper Elementary received a score of 4.9. Jasper Jr./Sr. High School fared better, ranking 28 out of 288 and scoring 7.9 out of 10 for 2008. École Desrochers is not listed because it does not meet the minimum enrollment.

Nicole Merrifield, communications manager for the Grande Yellowhead Regional Division (GYRD), said that the Fraser Institute looks at very select pieces of information and though GYRD doesn’t discount it, it also doesn’t put a lot of stock into it. “I can say quite honestly we’re not really concerned about where we rank. That’s not an accurate way to judge that school [Jasper Elementary],” she said.

The Fraser Institute’s report card is based on the results of the Provincial Achievement Tests that are administered in Grade 3 and 6 and provincial exams in Grade 12. GYRD uses many more measures to track student progress and success, said Merrifield. 

“Classroom teachers are with these students on a regular basis,” said Merrifield, “so they’re looking at teacher-made assessments, daily activity, work habits and skills, they’re looking at a lot broader range of means... Grande Yellowhead is a data-driven organization in the sense that we look at data at both a wide angle and a very specific level,” she said. 

Jasper Elementary principal Raymond Blanchette-Dubé echoed Merrifield’s assessment of the report by the Fraser Institute. “There are many things that we look at when we’re assessing the student,” he said, “primarily teacher assessments are one of the most important factors when we’re looking at student achievement. This is something [the Fraser report] we don’t necessarily discredit, but we don’t take it as the sole indicator of student success,” said Blanchette-Dubé.

“In general our students are progressing as they should as they move from each of those grades [3 and 6],” said Merrifield, “and in most cases we’re seeing significant improvement.”

The School Continuous Improvement Plan that is available on Jasper Elementary’s website takes a more holistic approach to gauging student success and the school fares quite well.