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We Believe…. Platte County High School will encourage and recognize academic excellence in a spirit of cooperation, not intense competition that sets one student against the other. Issues with Class Rank.
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We Believe… Platte County High School will encourage and recognize academic excellence in a spirit of cooperation, not intense competition that sets one student against the other.
Issues with Class Rank • Ranking students creates situations where students are deemed to be unacceptable for admission and/or are ineligible for scholarships • Rank overshadows the rigor of coursework on student transcripts • Ranking students results in an unhealthy environment of competition • Students choose courses based on their weight value rather than for long-term educational value
Why High Schools are Making the Shift • Academically accomplished students who are not at the top of their class are negatively affected by ranking. *without access to class rank, colleges are forced to evaluate a student more thoroughly by considering: -course selection -accomplishments -GPA -school profile -test scores -recommendation letters • Course selection becomes motivated by genuine interest rather than rank advantage.
Why High Schools are Making the Shift • Colleges consider the student in comparison to ALL other students and not just students within one high school. *2 students from different high schools may have the same class rank but vastly different GPAs, course history and extra-curricular activities • Eliminating class rank reduces stress attributed to competition with fellow classmates.
PCHS Research • High achieving districts in the St. Louis area have already eliminated class rank: * Clayton *Rockwood *Francis Howell * Hazelwood *Webster Groves *Ladue • Columbia Public Schools eliminated class rank this school year, starting with their senior class • The use of class rank is not common practice in east coast high schools • Adlai Stevenson High School, pioneer PLC school, eliminated class rank in 1999
Institutions of HigherEducationa sample of schools that will NOT penalize for lack of class rank Northwest Missouri State Truman State UM-Columbia UM – St. Louis Loyola-Chicago Missouri S&T University of Dayton UMKC University of Tulsa Missouri State University of Chicago Southeast Missouri Park University Missouri Western Columbia University Saint Louis University Cornell University Washington University Brown University DePaul Rice University Princeton University Harvard University Yale University According to a report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), over half of all high schools no longer report student rankings.
Current Reality at Platte County High School Class of 2012 Class of 2013 Class of 2014 *A rank of 124 can be found at approximately the 50th percentile in all three classes.
Recommendation to Amend IKC-AP Beginning with the 2011 – 2012 school year, Grade Point Average (GPA) and academic recognition upon graduation will be based on the following three-tiered system: Summa Cum Laude (with highest honors) ~ 4.2 and above Magna Cum Laude (with high honors) ~ 4.0 – 4.19 Cum Laude (with honors) ~ 3.8 – 3.99 This system will be based on a student’s weighted grade point average (GPA). A student’s GPA is determined by dividing the number of classes taken into the total number of grade points earned.
Grade points will be earned as follows: A = 4 points B = 3 points C = 2 points D = 1 point F = 0 points 1. The following courses will be weighted to include one (1) weighted point of distinction: ~Challenge core courses ~AP courses ~Dual credit courses 2. Grade points will not be earned for an aide position (teacher’s aide, office aide, library aide, etc). 3. Grade points will not be earned for any study hall or driver’s education. 4. Any courses, not to exceed one-half (½) credit per summer session, taken during summer school will be awarded grade points and will count toward GPA. 5. Classes taken on a pass/fail basis do not count towards determining class rank.
Current Achievement Tier ExampleSumma Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Cum Laude Platte County High School Recommendation The Class of 2014 has grades for only one semester of high school and therefore was excluded fromthis data.
Platte County High School will encourage and recognize academic excellence in a spirit of cooperation, not intense competition that sets one student against the other. Based on this statement and data collected, we strongly feel that this direction is what is best for our kids.
