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

2. 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

3. 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

4. Current Practice
ASRHS Currently reports out exact class rank for seniors

5. ASRHS Transcript

6. ASRHS Transcript – Rank Location

7. 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Reporting class rank is an outdated practice and can harm students’ chances of getting into their top choice colleges, or programs at colleges (Practical)

8. 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

9. 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

10. Everybody Gets a Trophy
Turtle Boy Sports – Wussification of America

11. 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

12. 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

13. Do colleges use rank if it’s given?

14. 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)

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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)

18. 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)

19. 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

20. 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

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