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Fraser Institute rankings released

The Fraser Institute has released its latest round of school rankings for BC, with shifts in Kitimat schools across the board.

The Fraser Institute has released its latest round of school rankings for BC, with shifts in Kitimat schools across the board.

Nechako Elementary's 2016 rating was 4.9 out of 10, up from 4.2 out of 10 in 2015. They are currently ranked at 695 out of 956 elementary schools in the province.

St. Anthony's School elementary grades saw their ranking drop in 2016, down to 7.3 out of 10 from 9.2 out of 10 in 2015. St. Anthony's is ranked at 192 out of 956 elementary schools in the province.

The Fraser Institute's ranking of schools is a contentious issue, with the BC Teachers Federation greeting the latest numbers with scorn on social media.

"For the last couple of years, the BCTF's official response to the rankings has been this meme on social media," BCTF spokesperson Rich Overgaard said in an email to Black Press.

The meme shows a photo of middle-aged white men laughing with the caption: "Our response to last year's Fraser Institute #bced rankings. Nothing has changed. They're still irrelevant. #bcpoli #RichWhiteMenLaughing."

The BCTF has asked parents to withdraw their children from FSA testing for years.

"A single test should never be used to pit school communities against each other," the organization said in an open letter to parents this year.

"But that is exactly what happens every year and it's time we worked together to end the misleading practice."

Provincially, BC's public elementary school rankings are continuing to rise, but don't meet the levels of independent schools.

Out of the 61 schools to show improvement since 2011/2012, 57 of them were public schools. However, independent schools continue to outrank public schools. The average score for independent schools is eight out of 10, compared to 5.6 out of 10 for public schools.

-With files from Katya Slepian