A secondary school from Kemptville topped the list of Eastern Ontario schools considered to be the best in academics among the entire province. In a list of 722 Ontario schools the Fraser Institute looked at, Kemptville's St. Michael High School ranked fourth.

The Canadian think-tank produces annual report cards on education and research, using what it calls "objective" criteria to rank institutions.

In this case, the institute used factors such as provincial education tests to help come to a decision.

“These detailed comparisons provide parents with the information they need to ask school principals and teachers important questions about how their child’s school is performing,” stated Mike Thomas, Fraser Institute associate director of school performance studies.

New website factoring for ESL, income

The institute has received heavy criticism in past years for its school rankings, with worries that the marks do not take into account factors like how many students take English as a Second Language courses, or how much money their parents make.

This time around, the institute is offering a new interactive website called Compare School Rankings that allow concerned students or parents to filter the rankings by income, students who speak English as a second language or other items.

In Eastern Ontario, 18 schools ranked among the top 100. They are:

  • 4th - St. Michael High School, Kemptville
  • 14th (tie) - Colonel By Secondary School, Gloucester
  • 14th (tie) - Ecole secondaire catholique Marie-Rivier, Kingston
  • 19th (tie) - Earl of March Secondary School, Kanata
  • 23rd (tie) - Nepean High School, Ottawa
  • 26th (tie) - Lisgar Collegiate Institute, Ottawa
  • 26th (tie) - John McCrae Secondary School, Nepean
  • 26th (tie) - Ecole secondaire publique Gisele-Lalonde, Orleans
  • 39th (tie) - All Saints Catholic High School, Kanata
  • 39th (tie) - St. Theresa Catholic Secondary School, Belleville
  • 45th (tie) - West Carleton Secondary School, Dunrobin
  • 45th (tie) - Regiopolis/Notre-Dame Catholic High School, Kingston
  • 45th (tie) - St. Joseph High School, Nepean
  • 45th (tie) - Holy Trinity Catholic School, Kanata
  • 55th (tie) - Ecole secondaire catholique Garneau, Gloucester
  • 65th (tie) - Brockville Collegiate Institute, Brockville
  • 82nd (tie) - St. Joseph's Secondary School, Cornwall
  • 94th (tie) - Ecole secondaire catholique La Citadelle, Cornwall

The bottom Eastern Ontario schools in the rankings:

  • 601st (tie) - Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute, Smiths Falls
  • 601st (tie) - Gananoque Secondary School, Gananoque
  • 634th (tie) - Napanee District Secondary School, Napanee
  • 634th (tie) - Queen Elizabeth Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Kingston
  • 643rd (tie) - Ridgemont High School, Ottawa
  • 662nd (tie) - St. Lawrence High School, Cornwall
  • 671st (tie) - La Salle Secondary School, Kingston
  • 674th (tie) - Rideau High School, Ottawa
  • 713th (tie) - Ottawa Technical Learning Centre, Ottawa