Editorial: Class Rank Should Be Eliminated

There’s something to be said for a school where a student with a 3.5 grade point average is ranked in the bottom half of their class.

Despite being based on only one aspect of school achievement, class rank has a profound impact on students and college admissions. Grade point average is the sole determining factor of rank, calculated to the ten-thousandth decimal point. At East, minor differences matter: these miniscule GPA points can create huge deviations in class rank. A student ranked in the seventies may take the same classes and be academically on par with the Top Ten, but that ten-thousandth point keeps their rank lower.

Transcript records don’t take into account extra-curricular activities. Playing an instrument or being involved in theater doesn’t matter. Artistic talent or prowess in a sport won’t help your rank. This categorizes students as either academically “smart” or “dumb,” with no way to redeem a bad grade with some other skill. Students may feel discouraged to try new things or to get involved in school activities outside of the classroom. Even going to a basketball game is out of the question, for fear of not getting enough study time and falling down the class rank!

There’s no way to fairly account for extra-curricular activities or school involvement on a numerical scale; therefore, instead of creating a needless competition, the idea of ranking students on such a scale should be eliminated.

Principal Dr. Karl Krawitz is strongly against class rank. He argues that the unfairness between East and other Kansas schools, the labeling of students and the obsession with the number creates a ridiculous “game” that kids have to learn to play.

Being ranked in the top third at East compared to other schools in the state of Kansas can vary exponentially. Being ranked low in the class can cause limitations in life after high school. College may be out of the question and a student can be thought of as “dumb,” all because of a number.

“The reality is that schools should never squelch the dreams of its students,” Dr. Krawitz said.

Dr. Krawitz admits his opinion is not the most popular, which means the system is very hard to change. Class rank isn’t a school-based decision, but a district one. The principals of each Shawnee Mission School District high school would have to agree to abolish class rank, propose it to the District, and the district-level administration would have to pass it onto the SMSD Board of Education, where a vote would be taken on whether to keep or eliminate rank in schools.

The ideas of class rank remain crucial to the educational society. Being ranked in the top third is one of many potential admissions qualifications to get into public universities in Kansas, as well as other schools across the nation. While an East student may reach the GPA qualification, their class rank could be lower than a student in another Kansas school with an identical GPA.

As long as the public believes class rank has a meaning, it will remain. It’s a traditional system that has no place in the modern-day educational system, where students do much more than sit in a classroom. Neither GPA nor class rank take anything above-and-beyond into account, and this narrow standard of “excellence” is not a benefit to students.

“Unfortunately, we continue to use old rules, even at the detriment of kids,” Dr. Krawitz said. “It goes against common sense and logic.”

Class rank is just a number: it shouldn’t be the defining characteristic of students at East or any other school. By abolishing class rank, students will feel less pressured and the school can do away with the ancient philosophy that for someone to win, someone else has to lose.