Part 1. The Journey.
I first became interested in the concept of eliminating class rank during a tour of my old high school at my 20 year reunion in 2012. The guide, a guidance counselor, had us note the series of valedictorian photos in a hallway. After a certain year, those photos stopped. He said at one point the school stopped ranking students and naming a valedictorian. “But what about college applications?” I thought, “And what about the commencement speaker?” He answered the second question without being asked, like he’d been over it a million times. “Back when we had valedictorians, the graduation speeches weren’t always very good. Oftentimes a kid who’s a top student isn’t always the best speaker. So now we hold auditions and anyone can apply. Since then, the quality has gone way up.”
I still didn’t have an answer to my first question.
The next day I looked into it and learned that many high schools, including those in the Chicago suburbs, where I live, were eliminating class rank. I also learned that it is not required for a college application.
Always curious, I spoke with a guidance counselor at my school. She told me tales of students:
- Taking this AP class because it boosted the GPA but not that one until after college applications were submitted because it a) looked like an impressive class to have on their schedule but b) it was a tougher class and they didn’t want the lower grade reflected on their transcripts.
- Taking driver’s education through a private placement because it’s not weighted and, therefore, could potentially bring down a GPA.
- Not taking art, choir, or business because, even if they got an A, it could bring their weighted GPA down. Instead, they were choosing to take study hall, which is grade neutral.
In addition to teaching, I also coach the speech team. These are some of the highest-achieving kids I’ve met and I am truly amazed by their advanced maturity. Sometimes they quit, not because they dislike speech, but because they’re overwhelmed with the demands of AP classes and they feel, correctly, that in order to stay near the front of the pack, they need to stuff their schedule with AP classes. The irony is, the benefits of improved confidence, critical thinking skills, and presentation abilities from the speech team are likely more valuable than anything from their AP classes. But speech team is extracurricular and doesn’t count towards GPA.
I submitted the proposal to my district administration and was granted an audience. This was when I ramped up my research.
Through a survey of school districts in the Chicago suburbs, I learned that rank elimination:
- Led to a reduction in academic stress and created an environment of collaboration
- Led to more students attempting advanced classes
- Led to a higher percentage of college admission and scholarship offers
I learned how the class rank system could be manipulated:
- Some students are able to accumulate high level high school credits while in middle school.
- English language learners and students with special needs are hampered by rank, as their language proficiency or disability, not their effort, often precludes them from accessing weighted classes.
But wait, there’s more:
- In one district, a GPA difference of .38 meant the difference between a student who was in the top quarter of their class and one who was in the bottom half (third quarter).
- Most colleges said the majority of applicants come from schools that do not rank.
- In 1993, class rank was #2 on the list of four factors colleges deemed important in admission. As of a 2011 survey, it’s now #5 out of five, and used only as a “down the list” factor.
- The guiding principles of the National Association of Secondary School Principals include strong language against practices such as class rank, opting instead for electives, collaboration, and practices not designed to “sort” students.
I presented my proposal to the district leadership team, where I was put through the wringer. I was asked some tough questions, most of which I could answer. To their credit, the team was very open to my proposal and we moved forward with it.
The next round involved meeting with parents in each of our four high schools. At the first meeting, the group was very receptive. I heard comments like:
- My son had a great report card after his first semester. He was so proud that he started high school on a good note. Then he learned what class rank was and realized he was 100th in his class. I could just see the disappointment in him.
- My kid has been #1 in her class since freshman year and it’s been nothing but a burden.
- One of my kids was valedictorian and another was salutatorian. It caused so many headaches in our house. Get rid of it!
- Why are you waiting to grandfather this in? Do it now.
But at the second meeting a few charged parents (of high performers, of course) attended. I heard comments like (with my thought rebuttals in parentheses – I’m far too polite to argue with people):
- Once you get rid of rewarding students for high grades, they’ll have no motivation! You’re just leading them into mediocrity! (Funny that a teacher would support a plan to make his students less engaged in class. “Yeah, I was getting tired of those interesting classes. I was hoping to create more slackers. I figured it would make the school year seem longer”.)
- Sure, just give everybody a trophy, even if they didn’t deserve it! (What I’m proposing is actually to take a “trophy” away. Besides, the back-up punter on a Super Bowl winning team gets a ring. Why not pick on him instead?)
- When I was a kid we had rank and it was a motivator for me. I was salutatorian! (Aren’t schools supposed to motivate all students? Do you think the kid who’s near last in his class is really positively motivated by knowing he’s terrible?)
- Kids need to know how the real world works! (I’ve been working for 25 years. I’ve yet to be ranked in comparison to my colleagues. I’ve learned that the “real world” works best when people collaborate.)
- Further evidence of the “dumbing down” of America! (I’m not sure what conservative talk radio hosts say, but National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data shows current students are doing better than ever. Well, at least better at taking tests. Our district alone has gone from fewer than 10 AP courses to more than 25, and some AP courses are being taken by freshmen! These students are expected to do more than ever and are exceeding an imaginary standard that never existed.)
- Next thing you know, you’re going to try and get rid of grades! (Actually…in graduate school I did receive all A’s, but there wasn’t any motivation to do so. I was a tenured teacher in a hard to staff field, so I was pretty much set. I was far more concerned with the feedback I got from my professors. I still keep in contact with them to let them know of my progress because of the relationships we built.)
After these parent meetings we had a committee meeting, where the proposal temporarily died. We had some good discussions, though. One administrator was, at one time, valedictorian. He was asked his opinion on the matter. Surprisingly, he said he thought GPA itself should be eliminated. He felt that it’s not our duty to do colleges’ jobs for them. As with hearing about class rank elimination for the first time, I was dumbstruck that such a thing could be undertaken. But when we talked later, it made sense. Colleges need students far more than the other way around. If we don’t have rank, GPA, or whatever, they will find a way to see if a student is a good match for their school. Without students, and their tuition dollars, they wouldn’t exist.
Then it was resurrected and, after a few more meetings, it passed 7-0.
I’m now hearing from administrators, teachers, and parents, who are coming out of the woodwork to find out if class rank elimination can be done at their district. Within weeks of our policy change, a bordering school district also moved to eliminate class rank.
My school district represents a traditional and conservative population. So for the members of the school board to study and support it really says something about their willingness to be open-minded.
To be clear, not all recognition of high grades will be eliminated. In fact, one caveat of rank elimination was to create a different way to honor students who had high grades. The difference is, students will no longer need to force another student down if they want to go up. And that alone is one big step for our district.
Part 2. What is a grade?
I’ve really changed my outlook over the past few years. Whereas I used to look at grades as prizes, I now look at them as information. Small bits of incomplete information. One solitary letter, such as an A, can have many interpretations. It could mean:
- The student has mastered the material.
- The student is in a class that is far too easy for them (my daughter knows of a classmate who is paid big bucks per A. While a little more advanced than her peers, the student refuses to take advanced classes. And why should she?)
- The student is adept at doing exactly what is expected of them. No more, no less. (This kind of training is great for lab rats.)
- The student knows how to play the teacher. (When I was in high school, a classmate got a B. Crying, he went to the teacher, saying his parents did not accept Bs. The teacher found a way to change his grade to an A).
- The teacher is generous.
Likewise, an F could mean:
- The student is far from mastering the material.
- The student has been inappropriately placed.
- The student does not care about the subject and sees little relevance to their own life. (I know of a child who is a rock music virtuoso at 13 – and has been for years – but struggles with algebra. He was harangued by his teacher because schools value one and not the other.)
- The student has been shown, through years of experience, that he is not a “good student” and has accepted his fate.
- The student has not conformed to the learning style that is demanded in a traditional classroom.
- The student spends class daydreaming about other, more interesting things. (That was me!)
- The student has issues outside of class that are impacting their performance. (That was me, too!)
- The teacher is a jerk. (I hope that’s not me!)
Yet we still cling to antiquated measures to determine a student’s worth.
One of the latest trends in motivational speaking is about how failure can be good. We hear Edison’s quote, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work” and we are regaled with stories about athletes like Michael Jordan who was apocryphally cut from his high school team. Yet we still insist on having a large and punitive scale of “failure” in our schools (59% of the scale, with no bands to indicate what kind of failure). Is failure in the traditional sense really celebrated? Is limiting access to future educational opportunities really best for growth?
For these reasons, I believe it’s inappropriate for grades to be used as a system of punishments and rewards. But I also understand that change often comes slowly, and sometimes all at once.
Part 3. Concluding thoughts.
In order for this initiative to pass, we had to assure the board that we were not the first ones to do this. We were in very good company, along with many other highly-regarded school districts. I had to prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that not only would this not be detrimental, but that it would be positive, and I needed reams of data from other districts that had already made the change to prove this. It takes a forward-thinking school district to be the first and implement change. While we didn’t invent this, I’m proud to say we’re the first in our area to make this change.
