Calgary 
In its latest release, the Fraser Institute unveiled the 2025 rankings for Alberta’s secondary schools, evaluating 292 institutions across various categories, including public, Catholic, independent, and charter schools.
Credit: Old Scona/EPSB
This annual report card evaluates schools based on eight academic indicators derived from Grade 12 province-wide exams, transition rates between grades, and graduation statistics.
The data by the Fraser Institute reveals a promising narrative of potential for improvement across all school types, defying the myth that a school’s location, student demographic, or other factors predetermine its academic ceiling.
Forest Lawn High School has shown significant progress, rising from a score of 3.5 (out of 10) in 2017 to 6 in 2023, the most recent year for which comparable data is available. This improvement comes despite 46.2 percent of its students being English Language Learners and 19 percent requiring special needs support. In the same timeframe, Strathcona-Tweedsmuir, a private school in Okotoks, increased its score from 8.2 to 9.7.
Top Secondary Schools in Alberta:
(Click on the school name for more information)
| Rank | School | City | Score |
| 1/293 | Old Scona | Edmonton | 10 |
| 1/293 | Renert | Calgary | 10 |
| 1/293 | Webber | Calgary | 10 |
| 4/293 | Edison | Foothills | 9.7 |
| 5/293 | Calgary French & International | Calgary | 9.6 |
| 5/293 | Rundle College | Calgary | 9.6 |
| 7/293 | West Island College | Calgary | 9.5 |
| 8/293 | Westmount | Calgary | 9.4 |
| 9/293 | Archbishop MacDonald | Edmonton | 9.1 |
| 10/293 | Western Canada | Calgary | 9 |
| 11/293 | Ernest Manning | Calgary | 8.9 |
| 11/293 | FFCA South | Calgary | 8.9 |
| 11/293 | Tempo | Edmonton | 8.9 |
| 14/293 | Bearspaw Christian | Calgary | 8.8 |
| 14/293 | Dr. E. P. Scarlett | Calgary | 8.8 |
| 14/293 | Edmonton Islamic | Edmonton | 8.8 |
| 14/293 | Master’s College | Calgary | 8.8 |
| 14/293 | Millwoods Christian | Edmonton | 8.8 |
| 19/293 | Vérendrye | Lethbridge | 8.7 |
| 20/293 | Henry Wise Wood | Calgary | 8.6 |
| 20/293 | Holy Trinity Academy | Okotoks | 8.6 |
| 20/293 | Lillian Osborne | Edmonton | 8.6 |
| 20/293 | Sir Winston Churchill | Calgary | 8.6 |
| 20/293 | William Aberhart | Calgary | 8.6 |
| 25/293 | FFCA | Calgary | 8.5 |
| 25/293 | Heritage Christian | Calgary | 8.5 |
| 25/293 | Strathcona Christian | Sherwood Park | 8.5 |
| 28/293 | Alberta Ballet | Calgary | 8.4 |
| 28/293 | Our Lady of the Snows | Canmore | 8.4 |
| 28/293 | Strathcona-Tweedsmuir | Foothills | 8.4 |
| 31/293 | Clear Water | Calgary | 8.3 |
| 31/293 | Hughenden | Hughenden | 8.3 |
| 33/293 | Stirling | Stirling | 8.1 |
| 33/293 | Strathcona | Edmonton | 8.1 |
| 35/293 | J H Picard | Edmonton | 8 |
While the rankings provide a valuable academic perspective, the Fraser Institute advises parents to consider a broader array of factors when selecting a school, suggesting that visits and discussions with school representatives can offer deeper insights into what each school may offer.
