Post by WeNeed3 on Dec 7, 2010 9:20:50 GMT -5
Class ranking dropped in District 204
By Kathy Millen kmillen@stmedianetwork.com
Dec 6, 2010 10:11PM
The District 204 board of education Monday night voted to eliminate class ranking for high school seniors beginning with the 2011-12 graduating class.
Instead it will use a system that still acknowledges accomplishments of students but does not provide individual class ranking.
The district also will replace valedictorian and salutatorian designations with the Latin Honor System used by colleges and universities. These would include summa cum laude (GPA of 4.5 and above), magna cum laude (GPA of 4.2-4.49) and cum laude (GPA of 4.0-4.19) distinctions.
These students will be recognized during graduation ceremonies along with Indian Prairie Scholars (those with a GPA of 3.6 and above).
More than half of all high schools no longer use student rankings, according to a report by the National Association for College Admissions Counseling.
The board began discussing the issue last summer. Opponents of the ranking system maintain it gives an often-misleading impression to college admissions officers. In highly competitive districts like District 204, students with very good grades can still place lower on the ranking list. In some cases, students with a “B” average fail to make the top half of their graduating class.
According to district administrators, rather than class rank, colleges take into consideration college prep classes taken, standardized test scores, the strength of the high school curriculum and overall grade point average when looking at admissions.
The number of District 204 seniors who would have been honored at the highest level of distinction (summa cum laude) for the past five years has ranged from five to nine per year. In 2009-10, nine students achieved summa cum laude, 29 achieved magna cum laude and 60 achieved cum laude.
Board member Mark Metzger said students who were hoping to become valedictorians or salutatorians will have to modify their expectations.
“It will never be perfectly just, but it’s a heck of a lot more just than what we had,” he said.
Board President Curt Bradshaw agreed, saying it comes down to the concept of benefiting more students.
Neighboring School District 203 eliminated rankings four years ago. Other high schools that have stopped the practice include New Trier, Stevenson, Deerfield Benet Academy and the Illinois Math and Science Academy.
napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/schools/2713922-418/cum-district-laude-students-class.html
By Kathy Millen kmillen@stmedianetwork.com
Dec 6, 2010 10:11PM
The District 204 board of education Monday night voted to eliminate class ranking for high school seniors beginning with the 2011-12 graduating class.
Instead it will use a system that still acknowledges accomplishments of students but does not provide individual class ranking.
The district also will replace valedictorian and salutatorian designations with the Latin Honor System used by colleges and universities. These would include summa cum laude (GPA of 4.5 and above), magna cum laude (GPA of 4.2-4.49) and cum laude (GPA of 4.0-4.19) distinctions.
These students will be recognized during graduation ceremonies along with Indian Prairie Scholars (those with a GPA of 3.6 and above).
More than half of all high schools no longer use student rankings, according to a report by the National Association for College Admissions Counseling.
The board began discussing the issue last summer. Opponents of the ranking system maintain it gives an often-misleading impression to college admissions officers. In highly competitive districts like District 204, students with very good grades can still place lower on the ranking list. In some cases, students with a “B” average fail to make the top half of their graduating class.
According to district administrators, rather than class rank, colleges take into consideration college prep classes taken, standardized test scores, the strength of the high school curriculum and overall grade point average when looking at admissions.
The number of District 204 seniors who would have been honored at the highest level of distinction (summa cum laude) for the past five years has ranged from five to nine per year. In 2009-10, nine students achieved summa cum laude, 29 achieved magna cum laude and 60 achieved cum laude.
Board member Mark Metzger said students who were hoping to become valedictorians or salutatorians will have to modify their expectations.
“It will never be perfectly just, but it’s a heck of a lot more just than what we had,” he said.
Board President Curt Bradshaw agreed, saying it comes down to the concept of benefiting more students.
Neighboring School District 203 eliminated rankings four years ago. Other high schools that have stopped the practice include New Trier, Stevenson, Deerfield Benet Academy and the Illinois Math and Science Academy.
napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/schools/2713922-418/cum-district-laude-students-class.html