The Best High Schools In Halifax 

Above all inputs, two main factors need consideration when comparing public schools. One — socio-economic Status (SES) and two — feeder achievement. Higher socioeconomic status can be indicative of essential elements of education. Some examples include teacher quality and future academic success of students while feeder achievement speaks to the quality of the elementary and middle schools feeding the high schools. Finally, both factors on their own and together speak to the overall geographic desirability of the area.

Overall academic achievement and post-secondary achievement speak to the quality of the classroom product and preparation for post-secondary education. This is apparent with overall academic achievement factoring in performance on standardized testing.

Here is are the factors, as defined by Atlantic Institute for Market Studies.

• Socioeconomic status (SES): the socioeconomic status uses a number of measures to capture the social and economic conditions of a school’s student population.
• Feeder achievement: an indicator of the academic achievement of students entering high school.
• Post-secondary achievement: indicates post-secondary students academic success from high schools in their first year of study Atlantic Canadian universities or colleges
• Overall academic performance: the overall average teacher-assigned marks for all grade 12 courses in math, science, language arts and humanities and provincial exams (grade 11 or 12 provincial exams including math, science, language arts, and humanities)

Below you’ll find the top 6 public high schools in the HRM, as ranked by AIMS.

Auburn Drive High School — Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia

• Provincial Rank — 4th
• SES — 5th
• Feeder Achievement — 29th
• Post-Secondary Achievement — 16th
• Overall Academic Achievement — 8th

Charles P. Allen High School — Bedford, Nova Scotia

• Provincial Rank — 8th
• SES — 1st
• Feeder Achievement — 3rd
• Post-Secondary Achievement — 28th
• Overall Academic Achievement — 14th

Halifax West High School — Halifax, Nova Scotia

• Provincial Rank — 9th
• SES — 6th
• Feeder Achievement — 26th
• Post-Secondary Achievement — 27th
• Overall Academic Achievement — 10th

Dartmouth High School — Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

• Provincial Rank — 10th
• SES — 35th
• Feeder Achievement — 30th
• Post-Secondary Achievement — 44th
• Overall Academic Achievement — 18th

Eastern Shore District High School — Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia

• Provincial Rank — 19th
• SES — 11th
• Feeder Achievement —20th
• Post-Secondary Achievement — 25th
• Overall Academic Achievement — 20th

Lockview High School – Fall River, Nova Scotia

• Provincial Rank — 22nd
• SES — 2nd
• Feeder Achievement — 7th
• Post-Secondary Achievement — 52nd
• Overall Academic Achievement — 37th