MELROSE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS RANK PROPOSAL Presented to the Melrose School Committee July 22, 2014

Considerations in the Elimination of Class Rank  Over half of high schools in the United States have eliminated the reporting of class rank.  Top schools in Massachusetts such as Lexington, Wellesley, Weston, Concord-Carlisle, Newton North, Newton South, Acton-Boxborough, Brookline, Winchester, Reading and Belmont have stopped the practice of ranking the entire class.  The top 10 schools in MA according to 2013 U.S. News and World Report have all stopped reporting rank.

Reasons to eliminate the practice of Class Rank  Unhealthy competition and emotional strain it places on students.  Places 90% of our students at a disadvantage instead of giving every student credit for his/her own accomplishments and records.  The academic education at MHS should be challenging for all students not just the top 10 and/or Honors students.  Students may lose out on scholarship opportunities. Merit Scholarships use rank if reported and if not reported it is based on transcripts and GPA.

Throughout the past year Melrose High School has begun to explore the elimination or modification of class ranking. We have adopted other educational best practices such as: Offering more Advanced Placement courses and sections. Increased enrollments in AP courses for For the upcoming school year we have 270 individual students scheduled to take at least 1 AP course; 95 more students than We have also moved away from traditional homerooms and study halls and have established our Advisory/Flex period as well as many new electives course opportunities.  As a result, class rank has become more difficult to determine as the numerical ranking becomes closer and closer. Students may factor class rank into their scheduling decisions. Impact from changes to MPS curricula and courses

Local communities who no longer use Class Rank Acton-Boxborough Andover Arlington Belmont Boston Latin Brookline Cambridge R&L Concord-Carlisle Duxbury Hamilton-Wenham Hingham Lexington Lincoln-Sudbury Mystic Valley Charter Needham Newton North Newton South Reading Watertown Wellesley Westford Academy Weston Winchester

Faculty Survey What is your opinion of Class Rank?  It should be eliminated 44.4%  It should be modified 33.3%  It should remain without any changes 22.2%

Faculty Survey Which of the following modifications to class rank would you support?  63% of our faculty reported that they would support the elimination of class rank entirely an/or reporting out by decile.

Parent Survey 1.What is your opinion of class rank? A. It should be eliminated/modified B. It should remain the same without any change 2. Which of the following would you support? A. Eliminate ranking entirely B. Report by the decile/percentile C. Keep as is 3. Would you support the elimination of awarding a Valedictorian as the #1 ranked student? A. Yes B. No 4. How would you phase this practice in? A. Immediately for the Class of 2015 B. Wait until the Class of 2016 C. Neither, keep as is  190 individuals answered the survey questions

Parent Survey Results What is your opinion of class rank? 71%It should be eliminated or modified 29%No change Which of the following would you support? 38%Eliminate entirely 36%Report by Decile/Percentile 25%No change

Parent Survey Results Would you support the elimination of awarding a Valedictorian as the #1 ranked student? 37%Yes 62%No How would you phase this practice in? 49%Immediately 23%For the class of %No change

We strongly believe that all of our students at Melrose High School are experiencing a challenging comprehensive education and achieving at a high level. We feel that eliminating class rank will only help our students as a whole. Colleges do not require schools/students to report class rank. To ensure that colleges understand the MHS system we will do the following:  Rewrite the MHS College Profile to be more explicit and better describe MHS.  Use a Histogram graph as part of the school profile showing a range of GPA performance.  Develop a decile/percentile system for reporting range. Higher Achievement for ALL Students at MHS

What the colleges are saying… UMASS Amherst: Rank is used to weed people out. More and more schools are not providing class rank. Can hurt a student. If none is provided, the student is evaluated without it. UNH: Used more for merit scholarship than for admission. More and more schools are not providing it. It probably benefits the student not to have it. MIT: Used if provided but no disadvantage to the student if not provided. St. Anselms: Will use if provided. No factor if not provided. Bentley: Use it if provided but does not count against a student if not provided.

Concerns Our highest achieving students are concerned that they will miss an opportunity to become #1 or #2. Will this effect our college acceptance (although rank is not required on a application)? How will students identify to which colleges they should apply? Who will speak at graduation? (students will audition to speak)

Proposal for Melrose High School for the class of 2016  Eliminate ranking the entire class.  Eliminate Valedictorian (#1 student).  Report out by decile/percentile after first semester of junior year and at the end of junior year (before senior year).  Each group (decile) will be reported alphabetically.

Proposal for Melrose High School for the class of % 10% (first decile) 15% 20% (second decile) 25% (top quarter) 33% (top third) 40% (fourt decile) 50% (top half) 60% (sixth decile) 70% (seventh decile) 80% (eighth decile) 90% (ninth decile)