Chapter 4

How to read school rankings

Last reviewed October 30, 2026

School rankings are one of the first things many parents search for, and one of the most misunderstood. They can be a useful starting point, but they leave out a lot. Here's what the common sources measure, and how to use them sensibly when choosing a home.

EQAO results

The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) is the Ontario agency that runs province-wide assessments in reading, writing and math at certain grades (such as Grades 3 and 6, and Grade 9 math), plus the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. EQAO publishes results by school and board on its website.

Useful for: seeing how students at a school performed on standardized assessments, and trends over several years.

Limits: results reflect particular grades and subjects on particular days. Small schools can see big swings from year to year. And results are strongly linked to students' backgrounds, not only to what the school does.

The Fraser Institute report card

The Fraser Institute, an independent think tank, publishes annual "report cards" that rank Ontario elementary and secondary schools, largely using EQAO data combined into an overall rating.

Useful for: a quick comparison and a sense of trends.

Limits: the ranking is built from a narrow set of measures, and doesn't capture teaching quality, programs, school culture, special education support, arts, sports or student wellbeing. Rankings can also shift with small changes in results. Many educators and boards caution against relying on them alone.

What rankings can't tell you

• Whether a school suits your child's personality, interests and needs
• The quality of special education and learning support
• Arts, music, sports, clubs and outdoor programs
• School culture, bullying prevention and wellbeing supports
• Class sizes and split grades in a given year
• Before- and after-school care on site

A better way to evaluate a school

1. Read the school's website and newsletters for programs, events and priorities.
2. Look at multiple years of EQAO data rather than a single year or a single ranking.
3. Visit if you can. Contact the school about tours or open houses for prospective families.
4. Ask questions: class sizes, supports for your child's needs, extracurriculars, the secondary school it feeds into.
5. Talk to local parents through neighbourhood groups or parent councils, keeping in mind that every family's experience differs.

Rankings and home prices

School reputation can influence demand for homes in some areas. That can work both ways for buyers: you may pay more within a popular boundary, but you may also find good value in an area with a strong school that simply isn't high in a ranking. Deciding what matters to your family, rather than chasing a ranking, often leads to better choices.

Secondary school considerations

For high school, look beyond results at:

• Specialized programs offered at particular schools, such as arts, technology, sciences or advanced placement
• Specialist High Skills Majors and co-op opportunities
• French Immersion continuation
• Sports and extracurriculars
• Travel time, since secondary schools often draw from wider areas

Some specialized secondary programs accept applications from outside the school's regular boundary, so ask the board.

Questions to ask on a school visit

• What are typical class sizes, and how common are split grades?
• How does the school support students who need extra help, or extra challenge?
• What clubs, teams, arts and music programs run here?
• How does the school communicate with parents?
• Which secondary school do students go on to?