Schools across America are eliminating class rank

By Addie Brown

Jose Leoncio, a rising Junior at American University. Photo by Addie Brown

Many high schools are removing the class ranking system nationwide with the intention of ending the fierce, high-stress competition that exists between high school students.

According to a news release of Swarthmore College’s recently admitted class, only 44% of admitted students came from high schools reporting class rank.

Not only are high schools discarding the ranking system, but colleges are viewing class rank as declining in significance. A report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling stated that only 9.2% of colleges in America attributed “considerable importance” to class rank in the admissions process in 2016.

In a Daily Pennsylvanian article, the University of Pennsylvania Dean of Admissions Eric Furda stated that “Class rank has become less prevalent in our pools, and therefore, less relevant.” Furda noted that only around 30% of applicants to the Penn come from high schools with ranking systems.

Sumita Bhattarai, a rising junior at American University, said her old high school recently removed the ranking system. “I’m not sure that class rank really has much meaning anymore,” she said. Bhattarai said class rank had little to no impact on her admission to American University.

Another rising junior at AU, Jose Leoncio, did not have a ranking system at his high school and said he believes that the entire ranking system should be eliminated. “We should be moving away from rank,” he said. “I’m in full agreement that your life shouldn’t be defined just by a number.”

However, not everyone believes in doing away with the ranking system. Doyin Abubakar, a rising senior at American University, believes that class rank is a significant component of the education system. “When students can indicate their progress it can encourage them to do more,” he said.

Despite conflicting opinions about the significance of class rank, schools are still seeing a nationwide shift away from the ranking system. The majority of high schools have either abandoned class rank or are planning to dispose of it sometime in the near future.

A Washington Post article quotes David Hawkins, the executive director of educational content and policy at the NACAC, discussing the depreciation of class rank. “The most important reason that class rank is on the decline is because it really isn’t a direct measure of student achievement,” he said.