Aurora High School February 2014

 All graded courses taken during high school years are included in cumulative GPA and class rank  AP and IB courses are weighted one point higher than other courses (ex. A=5.0 in AP and IB; 4.0 in college prep. class)  Exact class rank is provided on every transcript to colleges, military personnel and scholarship committees

 Top Ten honors, Valedictorian, Salutatorian at high school graduation  College admissions  Honors and scholars programs at colleges  Scholarships, national and local  Military admission and military academy admission

Provide Exact RankNO Exact Class Rank  Aurora  Avon *  Bay Village  Cuyahoga Heights  Forest Hills  Independence  Kenston  Nordonia Hills  Rocky River *  Rootstown  South Euclid-Lyndhurst  Streetsboro  Twinsburg  Walnut Hills  Willoughby Eastlake *Considering to discontinue exact rank BOLDED are top 25 schools ranked by ODE PI rankings  Bexley  Brecksville-Broadview Hts.  Chagrin Falls  Dublin City Schools  Granville  Hawken Upper School  Hudson  Indian Hill  Madeira  New Albany  Oakwood  Olentangy  Orange  Ottawa Hills  Solon  Sycamore  Upper Arlington  University School  West Geauga  Western Reserve Academy  Wyoming

 Rigorous courses include: Accelerated Integ. Math 1 (7 th grade), Accelerated Integ. Math 2 (8 th grade), Honors Integ. Math 3, Honors English 9, Honors Biology, Honors Integ. Math 4, Honors English 10, Honors Chemistry, AP US History, Honors English 11, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP Psychology, AP US Government, AP Calculus BC, Honors Physics, AP Studio Art, 3 credits of Global Language, 7 credits of Fine Arts (6 unweighted)  Grade trends: “A” average throughout high school  GPA: 4.190

 Rank: 8 of 270 (may drop below top 10 due to unweighted senior courses) Highlights: Student has consistently challenged himself, taking a rigorous course load and achieving strong grades. In addition, the student has chosen to participate in many elective, unweighted courses even though class rank would be affected and class rank honors would likely be lost. Concerns: Student may not be honored at graduation even though he was at the top of his class.

 Rigorous courses include: Accelerated Integ. Math 1 (8 th grade), Honors Integ. Math 2, Honors English 9, Honors Int. Math 3, Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, Honors In. Math 4, Honors Physics, AP Psychology, AP Economics, AP US Government, AP Music Theory, AP Physics B, 3 credits of Global Language, 4 credits of Fine Arts  Grade trends: Solid grades with approx. a “B” average throughout high school  GPA: 3.025

 Rank: 153 of 270 Highlights: Student has consistently challenged himself, taking a rigorous course load and achieving strong grades. Concerns: Student is ranked in the bottom half of their class which is not reflective of work effort and achievement. Student may not obtain admission to colleges and honors programs due to his exact rank being given.

 A student chose not to participate in orchestra during high school because it would lower his class rank  A deserving student did not get admitted to an honors program at Kent State University due to his decile ranking  Students have met with counselors regularly to discuss mental health issues that have come on from the stress of trying to remain in the top 2 or top 10; a few were referred to outside agencies  Several students have chosen not to participate in a 4 th year of a global language because it would lower their class rank  What should our focus be for the Aurora city Schools and our community? What do we value? GPA? Rigorous coursework? Branching out by taking more electives?

GPA Range to Median GPA: of 270 students 4.0 student ranks 20 of student ranks 160 of 270

Graduating ClassMedian GPA

 Higher acceptance rate to colleges  Higher acceptance rate to honors and scholars programs at colleges  More scholarship money from colleges  More students could be honored at graduation for our top honors (e.g. place more of a focus on Summa Cum Laude)  Focus on a love of learning, achieving personal best  Less anxiety seen in students

 Continue Summa, Magna and Cum Laude Awards at Graduation  Discontinue valedictorian and salutatorian  Discontinue exact ranking on transcripts  Only provide exact rank for programs that strictly require it, such as military academy applications  Only keep an internal ranking for these needs as described above  Honor summa cum laude students at graduation by stating their names, their colleges and presenting them with their cords or gold medals  Create a committee system for selecting a speaker for graduation  Select the best class to make these changes that fits with our values and goals

“Class rank is not a primary factor that we consider when we evaluate high school transcripts, since not every high school reports rank and those schools that do report rank have various methods for their calculation (cumulative, junior year only, weighted, unweighted, etc.) If your school chooses to discontinue class rank, it will not have an impact on the evaluation of your students’ applications.” ~American University

“Students should be reassured that they will not be rejected for admission solely on the basis of a few places in class rank. The overall pattern, upward trends, and especially the quality of the courses are far more important. Some secondary schools have found that grouping students by decile or quintile and providing the exact GPA helps to reduce anxiety and at the same time provides colleges with a relative ranking.” ~Harvard

“Class rank is helpful in the admissions process, but there are more and more high schools doing away with it. Having no class rank on a student’s transcript definitely makes us more thoughtful in the application process. We break down each year on a transcript and look for rigorous coursework. If higher level courses are available to a student, it is important to us to see these on the transcript. If you decide to eliminate class rank, we will adjust to it accordingly. It will not hurt your students. In your case, it may help the students in the application process.” ~Boston College

“Rank often creates stress over admissions decisions and often give the incorrect impression that a decision is based predominantly on minute differences in class standing. From our perspective in admissions, we would encourage you to eliminate rank. We’re able to make informed decisions about the academic side of a student’s application without rank based on several factors—the weighted GPA, the rigor of coursework (in the context of each high school), information provided in the high school profile, and our own knowledge about the school and community.” ~Washington University in St. Louis

“ By eliminating class rank, it shouldn’t effect the review of your applicants too much. It simply places more emphasis on the following criteria: the strength of the schedule (difficulty level of curriculum), the GPA and grade trends of the applicant, and the overall testing pattern (ACT/SAT scores). More and more secondary schools are moving to class rank elimination, and it has not adversely affected the review or admission consideration of their college applicants.” ~Ohio University

 GPA  Difficulty of curriculum  Competitiveness of high school  ACT/SAT scores  Class Rank  Essay(s)  Recommendation letters  Interviews  Auditions/Portfolios  Extracurricular activities, Employment

Administrators: Mike Roberto Brian Brookhart Teachers: Monika Biro Gayle Lewis Melissa Lindley Chris Miley Doc Munson April Nenadal Josh Rakow Mike Rubin