Islamic Schools Among the Top Ontario Elementary Schools: Fraser Institute

The report card ranks over 3,000 Ontario schools, including anglophone and francophone public and Catholic schools, along with a small number of private schools based on nine academic indicators from results of annual 2017/2018 EQAO tests in reading, writing and math tests. It ranks schools out of a score of 10.

Several Islamic schools ranked as the top schools for their respective cities.

“The Report Card is a valuable tool for parents and educators because it allows them to easily identify successful schools across the province—serving similar students and communities—that can serve as an example to follow,” said Peter Cowley, a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute’s School Performance Studies.

“All too often, principals and teachers try to excuse a school’s poor overall performance by blaming the characteristics of its students or the communities they serve, but the Report Card shows that any school, no matter where it’s located or what challenges its students face, can succeed,” Cowley said.

To demonstrate this, Cowley points to schools with large populations of special needs students who have improved over their ranking from one year to another. For example, St. Catherines’ E.I. McCulley Public School, where 61.9 per cent of students have special needs, improved its overall rating from 4.6 out of 10 in 2014 to 8.9 out of 10 last year. Elsewhere in the province, McKellar Park Central School in Thunder Bay (which has 66.7 per cent special needs students) improved its overall rating from 3 out of 10 in 2014 to 7.7 last year. And Ealing Public School in London had a 0 out of 10 overall rating in 2014, but improved to 7.5 last year, even though 45.5 per cent of its students have special needs.

The list’s top 20 Islamic elementary schools include (2019 Report Card, p. 225-226):

1. Al-Risala Academy, Mississauga, Score: 10
2. IQRA Islamic School, Mississauga, Score: 10
3. Islamic Foundation School - Durham, Ajax, Score: 10
4. Islamic Institute of Toronto, Toronto, Score: 10
5. Islamic School of Cambridge, Cambridge, Score: 10
6. Safa & Marwa School, Mississauga, Score: 10
7. Islamic School of Hamilton, Hamilton, Score: 9.9
8. Nile Academy, Toronto, Score: 9.6
9. Olive Grove School, Mississauga, Score: 9.6
10. Al-Ameen School, Brampton, Score: 9.5
11. Wali ul Asr School, Brampton, Score: 9.4
12. ISNA Islamic School, Mississauga, Score: 9.3
13. Islamic Foundation School - Toronto, Score: 9.2
14. Wali ul Asr School, Caledon, Score: 9.2
15. Ahlul Bayt Islamic School, Ottawa, Score: 9.1
16. Abraar Islamic School, Ottawa, Score: 8.2
17. As-Sadiq Islamic School, Thornhill, Score: 8.2
18. Al Manarat Heights School, Mississauga, Score: 8.1
19. An-Noor Islamic School, Windsor, Score: 8.1
20. Ontario Muslim Academy, Cambridge, Score: 8.1