ROGERS — Class rank could be a thing of the past for the class of 2017 at Rogers high schools.
A policy that was before the Rogers School Board Tuesday proposes retiring numeric class ranks in favor of a three-tier honors system and revises the standards used to measure honors.
Changing the system is the right thing to do, said Robert Moore, Rogers High School principal. Moore will become an assistant superintendent for secondary education in July.
“To me, ranking is inherently unfair. You can’t mathematically quantify any kid’s experience in school,” Moore said.
Class rank can mean different things for classes of different sizes, Moore said. He graduated fourth in a class of 38. While that may have looked good on a college application, it would have been different in a larger school, he said.
“I imagine if I were in Rogers High School, I would have graduated as number 100,” he said.
Class rank isn't a deciding factor in admission to the University of Arkansas, said Suzanne McCray, vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions.
“We don’t use it because it’s not as meaningful as it used to be,” McCray said. “You could have 30 people with a class rank of two. It used to be one person.”
If a student is borderline for admission or a scholarship, then administrators may look at the class rank, but there are other factors to consider, McCray said.
Class ranking systems aren't uniform across high schools or from state to state and that makes it difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison, McCray said.
“When we look at ACT – it’s an apple,” she said of the standardized test college-bound students take.
Rogers administrators cited a 2007 report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling study showing class rank moved from 42 percent of responding schools giving it considerable importance in 1993 to 23 percent in 2006. In the same survey, grades rose in importance from 39 percent to 51 percent of schools using them as a key factor. The importance of entrance test scores rose from 46 to 60 percent and essays rose from 14 to 28 percent, ranking them as a top factor.
Easy classes that yield high grades, can’t really be compared with the work of students who challenge themselves with hard classes, but don't make that perfect score, Moore said. The honors system still rewards students for their effort, but doesn't penalize them, he said.
Honors will still be awarded by quality points, although the way they are calculated will change. Grades received in college classes taken off campus, special education classes, English as a second language classes or alternative school classes don't count toward the honor system. That would change for the class of 2017. If the policy is changed, students in school now could appeal to have their work considered for honors, said Phil Eickstaedt executive director of secondary curriculum and instruction. Students transferring from unaccredited schools or out-of-state could also petition for honors graduation.
Honors graduation identifies students who worked hard, but doesn't assign them a meaningless comparison to their classmates, Eickstaedt said.
At A Glance
Honors Graduation
Under the new policy students will need to take an additional Advanced Placement class to reach each honors level. The proposed requirements under the new policy are:
• Honors: Students who finish graduation requirements, take two foreign language classes, two Advanced Placement courses, have a 3.3 GPA and earn 92 quality points.
• High honors: Students who finish graduation requirements, take two foreign language classes, four Advanced Placement courses, have a 3.75 GPA and earn 105 quality points.
• Distinguished honors: Students who finish graduation requirements, take two foreign language classes, five Advanced Placement courses, have a 4.0 GPA and earn 112 quality points.
What are quality points?
Quality points are currently used to define class rank and play into honors graduation. In an Advanced Placement class, points are assigned on a scale of five to two on letter grades A to D. In a standard class, points are assigned from four to one on letter grades A to D. No points are given for an F. The awarded points are tallied and divided by two.
Source: Staff Report
“We don’t care if you’re first or 10th or 25th if you meet those honors rankings,” he said.
The Arkansas Department of Higher Education oversees more than 20 scholarships and class rank isn't considered in any of them, said Brandi Hinkle, communications coordinator. The Academic Challenge Scholarship had 31,961 recipients in 2011-12 and the Governor’s Scholars and Distinguished Scholars programs had a combined 1,367 recipients, according to an Arkansas Department of Higher Education financial aid report.
Grades for classes taken in ninth through 12th grades are used to determine awards for the Governor’s Scholars and Distinguished Scholars programs, Hinkle said. The Academic Challenge Scholarship, also known as the lottery scholarship, requires a student to complete the Smart Core curriculum and uses the GPA average of those classes, which can include high school level classes taken in middle school.
The state requires school districts to report the GPAs of those classes, said Phyllis Stewart, chief of staff to Tom Kimbrell, Arkansas Department of Education commissioner.
High school work completed in middle school would also be eligible for quality points if the policy passes.
That is a good thing, said Cindy Holmer, president of Elmwood Middle School’s parent-teacher organization. Her eighth-grade daughter takes geometry at the high school.
“She should be awarded for pushing herself,” Holmer said.