BCPB Home > Benchmarks > Rankings > Performance Indicator 10: Public School Graduates

Performance Indicator 10: Public School Graduates

Where BC Ranks, Provincial Comparison

Year

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Rank

9

9

8

8

9

9

9

9

9

9

Performance Indicator Ten is based on the number of public secondary school graduates.

This indicator excludes graduates of independent schools due to a lack of comparable data. This disadvantages BC because of its relatively high proportion of students in independent schools. Statistics Canada plans to release a new set of data in 2008 that should allow a more accurate comparison going forward.

BC ranked ninth in public secondary school graduates in 2005, as it has since 2000. Data that include both public and independent schools show that independent school graduates made up close to nine percent of the BC total in 2005. See page 76 for BC-only data which includes public and independent schools.

Why It's Important
Levels of education tend to correlate strongly with future personal prosperity and well-being. With the "knowledge" content of most jobs steadily increasing, high school graduation or better is generally deemed essential as a base qualification for "higher learning" and entry level employment.
Note
This analysis is based on two data series. The original series covers 1996-1997 and the new one covers 1998-2005. The two series are treated seperately in the analysis.

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