School districts nationwide are electing to eliminate the class ranking system. According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals, about half of school around the country no longer report class rank.
The thought process being that rating students numerically is shallow and causes some peers to lose motivation and creates a low self-esteem. However, class rank positively recognizes students for their academic achievements and prepares students for the real world, while the abolition of it can make the college admission process difficult for college admission officers.
Class rank affords a source of competition in the academic arena which drives students to stay motivated and focused on scholastic achievements. Students striving to be the top of their class is comparable to a high school sports organization wanting to win a state title. Those who are driven by academic success deserve an equal measure of recognition, and that is through the class ranking system. Taking away the ranking system deprives those who make academics their sport.
The class ranking system can also be preparation for the real world. Although it is sometimes difficult to come to terms with, not everyone will be first in life. For example, within a pool of applicants for a job it is likely that only one will be hired while the others face rejection. If students do not learn to accept the occasional loss now, they never will.
The abolition of class rank is now making the college admission process more difficult. Jim Bock, vice president and dean of admissions at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, said “Many more applicants are coming from high schools with unorthodox ranking systems that make little sense,” according to the Washington Post With variation from the standard ranking system, there is no baseline to consider students off. The riddance of class rank for just a few means the irrelevance of class rank for all in the eyes of college admission officers.
Not everyone can be state champions or class valedictorians but schools should not fail to notice those who are.