North Penn High School Class Rank Considerations
Introductions ● Mr. Pete Nicholson, Principal, NPHS ● Dr. Nicole Yetter, Guidance Department Chair, NPHS ● Mr. Patrick Brett, Director of the Future Plans Center, NPHS
Proposal: Eliminate the reporting of class rank at North Penn High School, beginning with the Class of 2023. Class rank could still be calculated if necessary for specific academic institutions, scholarships, and for the purpose of naming a valedictorian and salutatorian, but it will not be reported or be listed on the North Penn High School transcript.
Why is NPHS considering a change?: (in no particular order) ● Stress and mental health of our students ● Increase the equity and access to academic programs ● The size of our graduating classes causes class rank to negatively impact many students in the college admission process ● Encourage students to take courses of interest and relevance, not those that will simply increase the GPA/class rank ● Better align with neighboring districts
Class Rank was once a major component in admission decision, but... According to a recent report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) more than half of all high schools no longer report student rankings. Source: NACAC 2017 State of College Admission
A look at neighboring districts: High Schools that DO NOT report rank: High Schools that DO report rank: ● Central Bucks SD NORTH PENN HIGH SCHOOL ● Conestoga HS Pennridge HS ● Council Rock SD Methacton HS ● Downingtown STEM Academy Abington HS ● Harriton HS Neshaminy HS ● Lower Merion HS ● Pennsbury HS ● Plymouth-Whitemarsh HS ● Spring-Ford HS (As of 2019-2020) ● Souderton HS ● Upper Dublin HS ● Upper Merion HS ● West Chester Area SD ● Wissahickon HS
Dean of Admissions at Penn, Eric Furda, confirmed NACAC’s conclusion — that class rank is not an essential factor in the admissions process at the University of Pennsylvania. According to Furda, “‘From a multi-decade perspective, class rank has become less prevalent in secondary schools,’ he said, adding that only about 30 percent of Penn’s applicant pool typically attends a school that ranks its students. ‘ Class rank has become less prevalent in our pools, and therefore, less relevant,’ Furda said.” Colleges such as Rutgers University-New Brunswick have stopped considering rank as a determining factor for admissions. The university says it considers the grades in each course, course difficulty, GPA, and the patterns of each prospective student's grades. "We also seek to understand the degree to which students challenge themselves in the context of the high school's curriculum through available offerings at the honors, accelerated, advanced or AP levels," the university said in a statement. "Due to the number of high schools who do not rank their students, we have not required class rank from applicants for several years."
At Tufts University in Boston, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin said just 20 percent of the students who applied this year provided a class rank. And 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. At Tufts, Coffin said the University gradually will start phasing out any mention of rank in its marketing materials because just a fraction of students are ranked. Bock said there is a silver lining: Without rank, admissions officers have been forced to look a little more closely at applications when students come from schools without rank. Maybe that’s a good thing, he said. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/07/13/high-schools-are-doing-away-with-class-ra nk-what-does-that-mean-for-college-admissions/?utm_term=.634447c52d16
“Half our applicants now come from schools that don’t have rank.” –Jim Miller, Director of Admissions, Brown University “This year, 20,376 of the 32,772 freshmen applicants had no class rank (62%). Further, 69% of admitted students did not report rank.” –Mike Mills, Northwestern University “The majority of schools that I read for do not rank, so they are certainly not penalized. Rank does not directly affect scholarships.” –Kevin Crimmons, Washington University “Students without rank are not penalized. As for scholarships, not at all [would class rank be an issue] as our aid is predominantly need-based.” –Alisa Fisher, Notre Dame
Mental Health Considerations A growing number of schools are choosing to eliminate class rankings. Student stress and the effect on the mental health is one reason districts cite for these decisions. (A. Harper, 2019 EducationDive.com) "Studies have found that high-achieving adolescents can suffer significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression, substance abuse and delinquent behaviors, at least two to three times the national average... When a child’s sense of self-worth is dependent on what they achieve, it can lead to anxiety and depression. Anxiety can come from worrying about keeping up with or outshining peers, while depression can be caused by a failure to achieve." (K. Martinko, 2019). In the NPSD, there has been an increase in high achieving and academically gifted students receiving in and out of school supports for mental health, as well as, accommodations through a 504 service agreement for anxiety. Students report feeling pressure to perform at a high level, take multiple AP courses, miss lunch periods, and compare themselves to their peers. Students have shared that they would be more likely to explore subjects they are passionate about or accept internships that may be more valuable to them if they are not pressured by class rank.
NPAGE Presenter Fall 2018 Sara Harberson - Nationally recognized authority on elite college admissions - Former Associate Dean of Admissions, University of Pennsylvania - Former Dean of Admission, Franklin & Marshall College Her top priorities for admissions officers: - Grades, Transcript and School Profile - Standardized Test Scores - Extracurriculars, 2-3 activities very well instead of 8-9 fairly well - Letters of Recommendation - Class rank only helps very top of class. It hurts 99% of North Penn Students due to class size
Thank you for your time and consideration. Any questions?
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