Education community responds to this year’s school rankings Stepan Vdovine

Here is an example of a principled leadership position from the West Vancouver Board of Education. Board chair Mary-Ann Booth has written a very well articulated letter to the editor of the Vancouver Sun – read it below.

In Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows, I was particularly pleased to read Meadowridge’s Hugh Burke comments in the Maple Ridge Times this afternoon, expressing a consistent position he has held for a number of years (Meadowridge is a private school, consistently ranked among the top 10 schools):

“[FSA] don’t measure the development of curiosity, of determination, of reflection, of honesty, of kindness, or of morality […] The problem is, this measure does not tell us much that is worth knowing about either the students or the school, and it does not allow for intellectually honest comparisons between institutions.”

Burke might be in business of serving education on a silver spoon, but he is, none the less a widely respected educator.

There appears to be a fairly united front against ranking schools. There are specific things that can be done and have been done in other jurisdictions (Ontario) to prevent the Fraser Institute’s degrading exercise. In BC, the Minister of Education has not acted on her position, neither did her predecessors. There is little reason to think she will. So can the public pressure make a difference, or does this very wide and public outcry gives the Institute a greater profile and even further unwarranted attention?

Thoughts, anyone?