Charles P. Allen scored HRM’s top marks in an annual report card on Nova Scotia high schools for the second year in a row.
The report card, graded by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, gave the Bedford school a B+ — the second-highest mark in the province, behind Cape Breton Highlands Academy.
“If you look at overall engagement … (C.P. Allen) did the best in the province,” said Bobby O’Keefe, co-author of the report card. “They had a very good showing in achievement, too, across the board.”
The report card graded schools on two general categories — achievement and engagement. Achievement includes such factors as marks, provincial exams and students’ success in post-secondary institutions. Engagement examines attendance, enrolment in post-secondary prep classes, and proportions of students moving.
HRM had two other schools in the Top 10, with Halifax West coming in sixth and Auburn Drive placing seventh. The lowest-ranked school in HRM, Cole Harbour District High School, came in at 57th with a grade score of C — just three schools from the bottom.
O’Keefe admitted other factors, such as the socio-economic environments, play a role in the schools. But he said the report tries to isolate those factors as much as possible.
“We do look at socio-economic status, the relative affluence of the student population in each of the schools, so we get a sense and can control for that variable,” said O’Keefe. “Yes, C.P. Allen is near the top with a very high rank in the socio-economic status. (But) you look at the No. 3 school, Barrington Municipal, they’re near the bottom. And it’s the same thing throughout the grades.”
HRM high schools
How they were graded
2. C.P. Allen: B+
6. Halifax West: B+
7. Auburn Drive: B
12. Dartmouth: B
20. Lockview: B-
22. Sir John A. Macdonald: B-
30. Sackville: B-
34: Prince Andrew: B-
35. Eastern Shore: B-
43. Millwood: C+
45: J.L. Ilsley: C+
55. Musquodoboit Rural: C
57. Cole Harbour: C
Citadel wasn’t part of this year’s report due to not enough years open.