Quebec School Deprivation Indices for 2024-2025

689 primary and 194 secondary schools are identified as being in more disadvantaged areas for the 2024-2025 school year, based on annual deprivation indices calculated for 69 school service centers. The Socio-Economic Environment Index (IMSE) and Low Income Threshold Index (LFR) are derived from 2016 Canadian census data on Quebec families with children. These indices place schools into decile ranks relative to all public primary and secondary institutions.

Use Cases

• Analyze the correlation between the Socio-Economic Environment Index (IMSE) components and student enrollment counts in deciles 8-10.
• Map the geographic distribution of schools in deciles 8, 9, or 10 according to the IMSE index using settlement unit geometry.
• Compare the Low Income Threshold Index (LFR) values across different family residence environments (rural, small urban, large agglomeration).
• Identify schools with 30 or more students that fall into the more disadvantaged group based on the combined IMSE and LFR indices.

Strengths

• Data covers 883 specific schools (689 primary, 194 secondary) identified as disadvantaged.
• Indices are calculated annually for 69 school service centers and linguistic school boards.
• Underlying socio-economic data is sourced from the authoritative 2016 Canadian census.

Limitations

• Core census data is from 2016, creating an 8-year lag for the 2024-2025 school year indices.
• No indices are calculated for special status school boards (Cree, Kativik, Littoral), limiting full provincial coverage.
• Schools with fewer than 30 students (without a specific agreement) are excluded from the analysis.

Provenance

Source

Government and Municipalities of Québec, Ministry of Education (MEQ).

Collection Method

Calculated by the MEQ from 2016 Canadian census data, aggregated to 3,680 settlement units.

Time Range

2024-2025 school year, using socio-economic data from 2016.

Freshness

Updated annually; most recent update is for the 2024-2025 school year.

Geography

Quebec, Canada, excluding special status school boards.