Ontario’s elementary schools have been ranked in a new report, and more than 20 institutions in the Greater Toronto Area were among those that came out on top with a perfect score.
The results, released by the Fraser Institute on Thursday, ranked 3,052 public, Catholic, and independent schools across the province, based on nine academic indicators pulled from Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) test scores. It should be noted that not all Ontario schools are included in the report, according to the Fraser Institute.
Thirty-one schools tied for first place, including AI-Manarat Heights, a private school in Mississauga, Cottingham, a public school in Toronto, St. Agnes of Assisi, a Catholic school in Woodbridge, and High Park Alternative, a public school in Toronto.
In its last report, which ranked Ontario’s secondary schools, all four of the top institutions with a perfect score were located in the GTA.
Meanwhile, some of the worst-performing schools located in the GTA included Willow Park (3,021st), a public school in Scarborough that scored 1.2 out of 10, Baycrest (3,015th), a public school in North York that scored 1.3, and Santa Maria (3,009th), a catholic school in York that scored 1.4.
In a news release, Paige MacPherson, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, said the report offers parents information that they “can’t easily get anywhere else, about how their child’s school performs and how it compares to other schools in Ontario.”
The institute pointed out that, contrary to common misconceptions, every school can improve its ranking, regardless of its type, location or student characteristics.
For example, Burleigh Hill, a public school in St. Catharines, is listed as one of the fastest improving elementary schools in Ontario after it more than doubled its score of 4.5 in 2018 to 9.9 in 2024.
Similarly, Tyendinaga Public School, in Shannonville, Ont., near Prince Edward County, improved its score from 1.6 in 2018 to 5.4 in their year’s report. At least 43.5 per cent of the students at Tyendinaga have special needs, the report noted.
“It doesn’t matter where a school is ranked, or what challenges its students may face. The evidence is clear—all types of schools, located all over the province with different types of students, are all capable of improvement,” MacPherson said.
The Fraser Institute says parents and guardians shouldn’t pick a school based on the results of the report alone, noting that there are “lots of other aspects” of a school and its programs that can help inform their decision.
“You can get a better idea about what the school will offer your child by visiting the school’s web site and by talking to the principal, teachers, and other parents,” the report’s website read.
Here are all of the schools in Ontario that received a perfect score and tied for first place, according to the report:
- AI-Manarat Heights - Mississauga
- Al-Ameen - Brampton
- Al-Sadeq Academy - Windsor
- Alfajrul Bassem - Oakville
- Applewood - St. Catharines
- Avondale Alternative - North York
- Corpus Christi - Richmond Hill
- Corpus Christi - Hamilton
- Cottingham - Toronto
- Forest Trail - Oakville
- Gracefield - St. Catharines
- Heritage Park - Scarborough
- High Park Alternative - Toronto
- Iroquois - Scarborough
- Islamic Institute of Toronto - Scarborough
- Islamic School of Cambridge - Cambridge
- Kate S Durdan - Niagara Falls
- Kenollie - Mississauga
- Khalsa Malton - Mississauga
- Khalsa Community - Brampton
- Northmount - Toronto
- Ontario Muslim Academy - Cambridge
- Plymouth - Welland
- Poplar Road - Scarborough
- Red Lake Madsen - Red Lake
- Safa & Marwa Islamic - Mississauga
- Sathya Sai - Toronto
- St. Agnes of Assisi - Woodbridge
- St. Davids/Laura Secord - St. Davids
- St. Justin Martyr - Unionville
- St. Sebastian – Toronto
Here are the 15 schools that ranked the lowest and their scores:
- Centennial-Grand Woodlands (0) - Brantford
- Federal (0) - Kirkland Lake
- Holy Saviour (0) - Marathon
- Ministik (0) - Moose Factory
- Princess Elizabeth (0) - Brantford
- Rideau Heights (0) - Kingston
- Diamond Jubilee (0.1) - Kapuskasing
- John Graves Simcoe (0.3) - Kingston
- Victoria (0.4) - London
- Schumacher (0.5) - Schumacher
- Graham Bell-Victoria (0.6) - Brantford
- Aileen Wright English (0.7) - Cochrane
- Trent River (0.7) - Trenton
- École Sép Sainte-Anne (0.7) - Mattawa
- Emily C. General S (0.8) - Ohsweken
- To see the full report, click here.
