The Fraser Institute publishes annual school rankings for provinces across Canada — the most widely consulted school comparison tool available to Canadian parents. Every autumn, families searching for information about their local schools land on the Fraser Institute’s Report Cards or compareschoolrankings.org. But most parents who use the rankings don’t fully understand what they measure, which provinces are covered, or — most importantly — how to use them without drawing the wrong conclusions. This guide covers all three.
What are the Fraser school rankings?
The Fraser Institute school rankings are annual report cards published by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank based in British Columbia. They are the most comprehensive publicly available academic comparison of Canadian schools, covering thousands of public, Catholic, independent, and charter schools across multiple provinces.
The rankings are available free of charge through two main sources:
- fraserinstitute.org — the official publication page, where all Report Card PDFs can be downloaded
- compareschoolrankings.org — the searchable database where parents can look up individual schools, compare specific institutions, and track performance over time
The rankings have been published annually since 1998 and are updated each November with data from the most recent provincewide test results.
Which provinces are covered?
The Fraser Institute publishes school rankings for four provinces:
| Province | Elementary schools | Secondary schools |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | ✓ (3,052 schools, 9 indicators) | ✓ (747 schools, 8 indicators) |
| British Columbia | ✓ (1,015 schools, 8 indicators) | ✓ |
| Alberta | ✗ | ✓ (292 schools, 8 indicators) |
| Quebec | ✗ | ✓ (470 schools) |
Ontario has the most comprehensive coverage, with both elementary and secondary rankings covering over 3,000 and 747 schools respectively. Ontario’s secondary rankings use EQAO test data and OSSLT literacy results as the primary data sources.
British Columbia has both elementary and secondary rankings. BC’s elementary schools are ranked using the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) results.
Alberta currently publishes secondary school rankings only. The Alberta Report Card ranks 292 public, Catholic, independent, and charter secondary schools based on eight academic indicators generated from Grade 12 provincewide testing, grade-to-grade transition and graduation rates.
Quebec publishes secondary rankings. The Quebec report covers 470 schools and uses provincewide test results in French, English, science, and mathematics.
Provinces not covered: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland, and the territories do not currently have Fraser Institute report cards. Families in these provinces do not have access to equivalent province-wide comparison data through this source.
How the Fraser school rankings work
Each province uses slightly different data sources and indicators because the underlying provincial test data differs. But the core methodology is consistent: schools are rated out of 10 based on multiple academic indicators derived from standardised provincial test results.
Ontario secondary schools
The Ontario secondary ranking uses eight indicators including:
- Average achievement on Grade 9 EQAO mathematics
- Percentage of first-time eligible students who successfully completed the OSSLT literacy test
- Percentage of previously eligible students who completed the OSSLT
- Percentage of tests assessed below the provincial standard
- Gender gaps in math and literacy performance
Ontario elementary schools
The Ontario elementary report ranks 3,052 schools based on nine academic indicators derived from provincewide test results. Elementary data comes from EQAO assessments at Grades 3 and 6.
Alberta secondary schools
Alberta uses eight indicators generated from Grade 12 provincewide testing alongside grade-to-grade transition rates and graduation rates — a broader measure than Ontario’s, which reflects Alberta’s different assessment system.
British Columbia
BC’s rankings use the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA), administered in Grades 4 and 7 for elementary rankings. Secondary rankings use provincial exam results for Grades 10-12.
The overall rating
Each school’s overall rating out of 10 is designed to answer one question: “In general, how is this school doing academically compared with others in the report card?” The Fraser Institute emphasises that the ratings reflect current performance and historical trajectories, not fixed characteristics — and that contrary to common misconceptions, the data suggest every school can improve regardless of type, location, and student characteristics.
How to find your school’s Fraser ranking
Option 1: compareschoolrankings.org The most user-friendly tool. Search by school name or browse by province. Shows the current overall rating, a breakdown by indicator, and a historical trend going back multiple years. The trend data is often more useful than the current score alone — a school that has risen from 6.5 to 8.5 over five years is doing something meaningfully different.
Option 2: fraserinstitute.org The full PDF Report Cards are available for download here, with complete tables showing every ranked school. The PDFs are more detailed than the compareschoolrankings.org interface but harder to navigate for a quick lookup.
Option 3: Google “[school name] Fraser Institute” Often the fastest route to the relevant page on compareschoolrankings.org for a specific school.
What the Fraser school rankings measure — and what they don’t
The Fraser Institute is explicit about the limitations of its rankings. The ratings measure academic outcomes as captured by standardised tests. They do not measure:
Teaching quality in isolation. A school’s rating reflects the combined effect of teachers, demographics, student motivation, parental involvement, and many other factors. The rating is an outcome measure, not a cause measure.
Programme quality within schools. A school with an overall rating of 7.5 might have an exceptional IB programme, a strong mathematics enrichment track, or an elite arts department that serves specific students far better than the overall rating suggests.
Individual student fit. The most critical limitation for parents of high-performing students: a school rated 8.5 with an average student who is working solidly at grade level may actually be a less stretching environment for a gifted student than a school rated 7.0 with active competition mathematics participation and a culture of academic ambition.
Non-academic factors. School culture, extracurricular offerings, mental health support, class sizes, and community are all absent from Fraser rankings. These factors matter enormously for student wellbeing and long-term development.
The Fraser Institute explicitly advises against using the rankings as the sole criterion for school selection, recommending a more holistic approach when evaluating educational opportunities.
Fraser school rankings by province: what the 2025 data shows
Ontario
Four schools received a perfect 10/10 score in the 2025 Ontario secondary rankings — all in the GTA: St. Robert Catholic High School (Thornhill), St. Theresa of Lisieux Catholic High School (Richmond Hill), St. Augustine Catholic High School (Markham), and St. Michael’s Choir School (Toronto). York Region Catholic schools dominate the top of the Ontario secondary rankings.
For Ontario elementary schools, Burleigh Hill, a public school in St. Catharines, is highlighted as a strong performer in the 2025 elementary report.
For detailed Ontario secondary school rankings, see our Ontario high school ranking guide.
Alberta
The Alberta Report Card ranks 292 public, Catholic, independent, and charter secondary schools. In the 2025 Alberta rankings, Webber Academy — a private school in Calgary — scored a perfect 10/10, the highest score in the province. For a detailed breakdown of top-performing schools in Calgary, see our best schools in Calgary guide.
British Columbia
BC’s rankings cover both elementary and secondary schools using Foundation Skills Assessment and provincial exam data. Private schools in BC are more likely to appear in rankings than in Ontario because BC private schools that receive provincial funding are required to administer provincial assessments.
How Fraser school rankings relate to private school admissions
An important nuance for families considering private schools: most of Ontario’s most academically selective independent schools do not appear in the Fraser Institute rankings because they are not required to administer EQAO tests. Upper Canada College, Branksome Hall, Bishop Strachan, Havergal College, and similar schools have no Fraser rating — which means comparing them directly with ranked public schools is not possible using this tool.
For independent school comparisons, families need to look at other indicators: university placement rates, SSAT score expectations for admission, IB and AP results, and the school’s own published outcomes data.
Many of Ontario’s top private schools require the SSAT for Grade 7 and Grade 9 entry. For guidance on the SSAT and how it fits into private school applications, see our SSAT guide for Canadian parents.
What Fraser school rankings mean for high-performing students specifically
For families with academically ambitious, high-performing students, the Fraser ranking is a less precise tool than it is for families making more general school choices. The reason is that the ranking measures average outcomes — and for a student who is significantly above average, what matters is not how the school performs on average but whether it has the programmes, culture, and pace to push that specific student to their ceiling.
A school ranked 7.5 in Fraser that has active CEMC contest participation, a gifted stream, and teachers who push advanced students may serve a mathematically strong student far better than a school ranked 9.5 that has no enrichment culture and a teaching pace calibrated to the median student.
For a deeper look at this distinction, see our guides to math enrichment and is my child gifted in math.
How Think Academy Canada supports families using school rankings
Think Academy Canada works with motivated, high-performing students across Canada from Grade 1 through Grade 12, fully online. We work with families in Ontario, Alberta, BC, and across the country who are navigating school choices — whether they’re comparing public schools using Fraser rankings, preparing for private school admissions, or simply trying to understand whether their child is being appropriately challenged in their current school environment.
Our free diagnostic assessment gives you the one piece of information Fraser rankings cannot: a clear, individual picture of where your specific child’s academic skills currently sit. This is the right starting point before making any school choice based on aggregate data.
FAQ
What are the Fraser school rankings?
The Fraser school rankings are annual report cards published by the Fraser Institute that rate schools out of 10 based on academic indicators from provincewide standardised tests. They cover elementary and secondary schools in Ontario and British Columbia, and secondary schools in Alberta and Quebec.
Where can I find Fraser school rankings for my school?
The most accessible tool is compareschoolrankings.org, where you can search by school name and view current ratings, indicator breakdowns, and historical trends. Full PDF reports are available at fraserinstitute.org.
Which provinces have Fraser school rankings?
Ontario (elementary and secondary), British Columbia (elementary and secondary), Alberta (secondary only), and Quebec (secondary only). Other provinces including Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Atlantic provinces are not currently covered.
How are Fraser school rankings calculated?
Each school receives an overall rating out of 10 based on multiple academic indicators derived from provincewide standardised test results. Ontario secondary schools use EQAO and OSSLT data; Alberta uses Grade 12 provincial testing and graduation rates; BC uses the Foundation Skills Assessment.
Do private schools appear in Fraser school rankings?
In Ontario, private schools only appear if they administer EQAO tests — most do not, so most Ontario private schools are absent from the rankings. In Alberta and BC, more private schools appear because provincial funding requirements include standardised testing.
Are Fraser school rankings a reliable way to choose a school?
They are a useful starting point for comparing academic outcomes across schools. The Fraser Institute itself advises against using rankings as the sole criterion, recommending a holistic approach. Rankings measure average outcomes and do not capture teaching quality, school culture, programme breadth, or individual student fit.
What does a school’s Fraser rating trend tell me?
Trajectory is often more informative than the current score. A school that has risen from 6.0 to 8.5 over five years is demonstrably improving — and that improvement trajectory is visible in the compareschoolrankings.org tool’s historical data. A consistently high-rated school and a rapidly improving one may both be strong choices for different reasons.
Why don’t some schools have a Fraser rating?
Schools may be absent from rankings if they do not administer the relevant provincial standardised tests, do not meet minimum enrolment thresholds, or are in provinces not covered by the Fraser Institute’s report cards.
How often are Fraser school rankings updated?
Rankings are updated annually, typically published in November each year using data from the most recent completed school year. The 2025 editions use 2023-24 test data.
How can Think Academy Canada help with school choice in Canada?
Think Academy Canada offers a free diagnostic assessment for students in Grades 1 to 12 across Canada. The assessment gives families an individual picture of a child’s academic skills — information that school rankings cannot provide — alongside free practice resources matched to the results.
About Think Academy Canada Think Academy Canada is a K-12 mathematics tutoring programme, part of TAL Education Group. We work with motivated, high-performing students across Canada from Grade 1 through Grade 12, with a focus on curriculum enrichment, SSAT preparation, and competition mathematics including CEMC and AMC. All lessons are delivered online. Follow us on Instagram at @thinkacademyca.
