Paige MacPherson

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Associate Director, Education Policy

Paige MacPherson is Associate Director of Education Policy for the Fraser Institute. For many years, Paige has contributed policy analysis and commentary to major media outlets and research organizations across Canada, focusing on education policy, fiscal policy and government accountability. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Calgary School of Public Policy and a BA from Dalhousie University. Prior to joining the Fraser Institute, Paige was Alberta Director and Atlantic Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, TV host and politics reporter with Sun Media and provided communications for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, where she founded a post-secondary student outreach program. Paige’s work has taken her from coast-to-coast-to-coast.

Recent Research by Paige MacPherson

BC’s Descriptive Grading on Report Cards Has Parents Yearning for the ABCs

— Oct 24, 2024

B.C.’s Descriptive Grading on Report Cards Has Parents Yearning for the ABCs finds that the vast majority of parents in Canada easily understand letter grades on report cards but are confused by the new “descriptive” grading recently adopted in British Columbia.

The End of Accountability in British Columbia High School Student Performance

— Aug 29, 2024

End of Accountability in BC High School Student Performance

The End of Accountability in British Columbia High School Student Performance finds that the B.C. government’s new student “assessments” in high schools are much less valuable and useful than the previous exams in measuring student and school performance.

Strong Parental Support for Balance, Not Bias, and Parental Involvement in K-12 Classrooms

— Jun 11, 2024

Strong Parental Support for Balance, not Bias, and Parental Involvement in K-12 Classrooms finds that, based on a new Leger poll, more than 4 in 5 parents (82% of) across Canada think K-12 teachers and schools should provide students with facts, not interpretations, and provide advance notice of controversial lessons while 76 % of parents agree that students should be presented both sides of controversial issues or avoided entirely, while 91 per cent of parents think classroom material and discussions should always be age-appropriate.