Class Rank at Ayer Shirley Regional High School November 14, 2016

Goals of this Presentation Provide an overview/context of current use of class rank Discuss reasons for elimination of class rank Review current research Consider impact to Ayer-Shirley Regional High School’s students

Our Journey at Wachusett Teachers brought it up year after year Guidance became interested Researched the issue Polled our community Presented to the school committee Eliminated rank starting with last year’s graduating class

Current Practice ASRHS Currently reports out exact class rank for seniors

ASRHS Transcript

ASRHS Transcript – Rank Location

Why move away from class rank? Benefits of elimination Ranking students possibly fosters unhealthy competition and creates undue stress for students (Emotional) Reporting class rank is an outdated practice and can harm students’ chances of getting into their top choice colleges, or programs at colleges (Practical)

Mission Statements Wachusett Regional High School Core Values Citizenship and Responsibility Collaboration Communication Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Creativity and Innovation Ayer Shirley Regional High School Core Beliefs Educators, students, families, and communities collaborating together results in high quality educational programming

Collaboration/Stress “Students in Advanced Placement classes are hyper aware of how numerically close the top ranked students are. One large assignment or test can change the rankings. Because of this, some students are hesitant to work with other students or to help their peers. Ranking is the ‘elephant in the room’.” – Current Wachusett AP Teacher Overall stress levels/additional competition during an already competitive and stressful process

Everybody Gets a Trophy Turtle Boy Sports – Wussification of America

Current Research “Over half of high schools no longer use class rankings.” – NACAC (National Association of College Admission Counseling) In 1993, 42% of colleges considered class rank to be “of considerable importance” in making admissions decisions In 2013, 15% of colleges made the same assessment

Why is this becoming less important? “With the proliferation of AP and IB courses – which can boost a student’s grade-point-average above a 4.0 – emphasizing rank could push students to overload themselves during their high school years.” –Washington Post Variety of curricula and grading practices at high schools – CollegeBoard Some high schools have eliminated class rank because it penalizes many excellent students who are squeezed out of the top 10% of the class and are then overlooked by the colleges. - CollegeBoard

Do colleges use rank if it’s given?

Do colleges use rank if it’s given? Cornell The top 10% of students at Ayer Shirley includes approximately 8 students. 4.25 (A+ 98) 3.93 (A- 92) 4.22 (A+ 97) 3.93 (A- 92) 4.18 (A+ 97) 3.85 (A- 91) 4.16 (A+ 97) 3.80 (A- 91) 4.15 (A 96) 3.75 (A- 91) 4.09 (A 95) 3.73 (A- 90) 4.08 (A 95) 3.71 (A- 90) 3.95 (A 93) 3.70 (A- 90)

What are the colleges reporting? “We are more focused on a student’s transcript. Class rankings are too variable/unreliable to make a determination of the strength of a student’s application.” – Yale University For the fall of 2015 66% of students who applied to Dartmouth College did NOT have a rank 70% of students who applied to Brown did NOT have a rank 80% of students who applied to Tufts did NOT have a rank

Will eliminating rank hurt students? “Without rank, admissions officers have been forced to look a little more closely at applications when students come from schools without rank. Maybe that’s a good thing.” – Jim Bock, VP/Dean of Admissions at Swarthmore College There is a growing number of high schools who do not supply a rank. Not having a rank would not hurt a student, but an unsatisfactory rank could possibly hurt a student.” – Admissions officer at Brown University “Having no rank would certainly not hurt a student.” – Admissions officer at Dartmouth College

When did other local schools stop ranking? Nashoba-Regional (2013) Hopkinton (1999) Westborough (2006) Andover (2009) Acton-Boxborough (2012) Belmont (2011) Groton Dunstable (2011) Duxbury (2006) Tahanto (2008) Norwell (2009) Weston (2003) Hingham (2006) Dover-Sherborn (2002) Arlington (2012) Wellesley (2004) Westford (2007) Concord-Carlisle (1997) Canton (2011) Brookline (2011) Hamilton-Wenham (2007) Newton North (2011) Manchester-Essex (2003) Newton South (2010) Sharon (2003) Cambridge Ringe & Latin (2009) Bromfield (Never ranked) Wayland (2011) Wachusett (2015) Westwood (2003) Lunenburg (2016) Needham (2006) Cohasset (2011) Lincoln-Sudbury (2004) Boston Latin (2004) Marblehead (2006)

Example of how rankings impact students UMass Amherst Honors College Provides honors courses, smaller classes, residency options, and special recognition on student’s transcripts Requirements Combined SAT Math/Reading of 1300 (old SAT) GPA of A- or higher High school class rank in the top 10% (if rank is provided)

Example of how rankings impact students Requirements Combined SAT Math/Reading of 1300 (old SAT) GPA of A- or higher High school class rank in the top 10% (if rank is provided) Wachusett’s 54th ranked student had a 93.1 GPA (which is an A) That student would not be able to participate in the UMass Amherst Honors College – even if she had perfect SAT scores

Wachusett and Ayer Shirley Class Profiles Average class size of approximately 500 students Average class size of approximately 85 students Students in the bottom HALF of the class can easily have a B+ average Students in the bottom HALF of the class can easily have a B average

Next Steps… Ultimately the decision is yours as a school community. What’s best for your students?