Class Rank ResearchAurora 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

Current Class Rank System

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

What is class rank used for?

Ohio High School ComparisionProvide Exact Rank NO 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 rankBOLDED 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 (7th grade), Accelerated Integ. Math 2 (8th 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

Sample Student A

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.

Sample Student A (cont.)

Rigorous courses include: Accelerated Integ. Math 1 (8th 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

Sample Student B

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.

Sample Student B (cont.)

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 4th 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?

Other Examples of Negative Impact

Current Class Rank StatisticsClass of 2014

GPA Range1.121 to 4.366

Median GPA: 3.20135 of 270 students

4.0 student ranks 20 of 2703.0 student ranks 160 of 270

Class of 2014 GPA Distribution

4.0 +

3.74-3

.5

3.24-3

.00

2.74-2

.5

2.24-2

.00

1.74-1

.50

1.24-1

.0005

10152025303540

Number of Students

Four Year Trends

Graduating Class Median GPA2014 3.2002013 3.3332012 3.3332011 3.400

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

How would a new system benefit our 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

Recommendations for New Class Honors

“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

Comments from College Admissions Counselors

“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

Comments from College Admissions Counselors

“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

Comments from College Admissions Counselors

“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

Comments from College Admissions Counselors

“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

Comments from College Admissions Counselors

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

College Admissions Criteria(varies with each college)

Common ApplicationSchool Report Form

Class Rank Research TeamAdministrators:

Mike RobertoBrian Brookhart

Teachers:Monika BiroGayle Lewis

Melissa LindleyChris MileyDoc MunsonApril NenadalJosh RakowMike Rubin