The 2025 report compares 747 high schools across the province using standardized EQAO literacy and mathematics results.
A new provincial ranking from the Fraser Institute places several Sarnia and Lambton County secondary schools across the middle range of Ontario’s 747 publicly ranked high schools.
The Report Card on Ontario’s Secondary Schools 2025 evaluates schools using academic indicators drawn from province-wide assessments administered by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), including Grade 9 mathematics results and Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test outcomes. Each school receives an overall rating out of 10, which determines its provincial rank.
How local schools ranked
In Sarnia, Northern Collegiate Institute & Vocational School ranked 158th overall with a rating of 7.3 out of 10, placing it in the upper third of schools assessed province-wide. Northern has the highest ranking in the report out of all Lambton County schools.
Two Catholic secondary schools in the city appeared lower in the rankings. St. Patrick’s Catholic High School ranked 390th with an overall rating of 6.0, while St. François-Xavier Catholic Secondary School ranked 367th with a score of 6.1.
Great Lakes Secondary School ranked 478th, receiving an overall rating of 5.5.
Outside the city, Lambton Central Collegiate & Vocational Institute in Petrolia ranked 178th with a score of 7.2, making it the second highest rated in Lambton County.
In Forest, North Lambton Secondary School ranked 453rd, earning an overall rating of 5.6.
All Lambton schools have improved their performance since the release of the 2024 report, with the exception of St. Patrick's Catholic High School which dropped from 323rd to 390th. Alexander Mackenzie Secondary School did not appear in the 2025 report, and ranked 738th in 2024.
What the rankings measure
The Fraser Institute’s overall score is based on six academic indicators, including average student achievement in Grade 9 mathematics, literacy test pass rates for first-time and repeat test-takers, the proportion of results below provincial standards, and achievement gaps between male and female students.
Schools are ranked relative to one another, meaning changes in score reflect performance compared with the provincial average rather than absolute improvement alone. The report also includes five-year trends where sufficient data are available, allowing readers to assess whether results are improving or declining over time.
The authors note that the rankings are intended to provide information that is not always easily accessible to families and to allow for comparisons among schools with similar characteristics. The report also cautions that academic data represent only one aspect of a school’s overall environment and programming.
The full rankings, including five-year averages and trend indicators, are available through the Fraser Institute’s school comparison database.
