Research

 

The following graphic is a chart derived from The North Carolina Central University School of Law. Regardless of the background, this chart clearly shows that the top 10% are a small minority of the entire Class of 2013. Since class ranking systems only benefit the top tier students and harm any students below that due to the negative implications received from universities seeing their admissions, the class rank will harm the vast majority of students. Therefore, there is more harm than help being done, so it should be abolished.

Research

http://www.lionnewspaper.com/opinions/2011/11/14/counterpoint-class-rank-inaccurate-measurement-of-success/

Arti Patel of Lyons Township High School provides a counterargument from another editorial of the same school newspaper. In his editorial, Patel states that class rank allows students to be wary of their academic choices as the choices they make "may affect their academic records for the rest of their high school career" since high schools operate on a cumulative system. However, Patel argues that class rank should not carry as much weight as it should, as the cumulative aspect can only gauge a person throughout all four years. Patel states that a transcript and the grades that follow with it provide a more accurate evaluation of a student, as it provides the rigor of courses and the specific faults of a student. In addition, class rank separates a class, as the top tier students only see a small portion of students in the class due to the courses they have picked. Patel qualifies his previous statement, stating that a school needs a hierarchy in which students strive to be the best based on their academic needs. In the need, motivation keeps class rank implemented, but Patel lists other ways of motivation.

Research

http://www.eastside-online.org/opinions/class-rank/

 Karly Bader of Cherry Hill High School East states that class rank is "essentially a mathematical summary of a student’s academic record as compared to the mathematical summary of the other students in his or her class", giving class rank a stoic, inhuman quality. Bader voices the injustice of class rank in an elite high school, stating that intelligent students would flourish in other schools but are rank lower than necessary due to the harsh competition. Therefore, those students do not have equal opportunity to be admitted to certain universities due to their lower class rank. In addition, Bader advocates, "this school would essentially have to create two ranking systems—one based on academics and the other based on extracurriculars" due to a large demographic of students choosing to excel in arts or sports rather than traditionally academics. School admissions would take a more holistic approach towards ranking students, as they are excelling in a variety of parameters. Baders calls universities to consider that "no student can be represented by a single number since student dynamics extend beyond the classroom onto the field and stage". Universities should stop doing what's convenient for them and actually start looking at students holistically.

Research

http://www.lionnewspaper.com/opinions/2011/11/14/point-class-rank-necessary-for-success/

 Maggie O'Brien of Lyons Township High School states that class rank drives "competition, where the prize is college admission and potential scholarships" amongst the student body. Students are naturally competitive and curious towards the success, so class rank allows that curiosity to be "anonymous" where students will push themselves into performing better, and "Higher grades will thus be common among students". High schools will take pride in their high rank, and the ones who receive a lower rank will not fret either because it remains "anonymous".
However, O'Brien does not take into account of how the student who receives a lower rank will feel about themselves, making her argument less credible. Although the college admission process will be more efficient and "less stressful", colleges should view students more holistically. In addition, class rank offers a gauge of a student's admission, but that is not necessarily a good thing, as students will be discouraged from performing well and give up.

Research

http://www.njsba.org/sb_notes/20110524/surveyresults.html

The New Jersey School Boards Association posted a series of surveys that they conducted regarding public opinion on class rank. In one survey, the people who favor not including class rank in transcripts to the people who did was 42.4% to 40.7%, indicating that more people favored opting out of class rank but only by a slight number. In fact, the results appeared almost equal on both sides when factored in statistical accuracy. Comments indicate that "for districts that have a great number of high achievers, class rank may be a detriment to some pupils who are outstanding yet not quite at the very highest level", so larger schools may have less of a benefit from class rank as it hurts near top-performing students. On the other hand, small schools flourish from class rank as it provides the brightest minds to have even stronger applications.
In another survey, the NJSBA revealed that "Only 26.8 percent agreed that class rank gives a clear picture of a student’s academic achievements". Therefore, a large majority of citizens came to the consensus that class rank is ineffective in painting a picture of how strong a student is academically, therefore, colleges should not view it in the college applications. 

Research

Orthodoxy

Research

http://www.memo.mersd.org/2012/01/guidance-should-calculate-class-rank-to-help-high-achieving-students

Fiona Davis praising high school students with high class rank, as it is a "difficult and praiseworthy feat". Therefore, the top students should be given rewards for their hard work and excellent academic endeavors by receiving benefits such as a stronger application for university admissions. Davis argues that without class rank, top students will lose their advantage in the admissions process, which is unfair to them because they put in hard work to produce those results. Even though proponents of elimination argue that the increased competition hurt students, the elimination of class rank will even everyone out by "leveling the playing field by not calculating class rank puts all students at the same level in the eyes of colleges". That prevents top students from differentiation from the other lower students in the class, hurting their application strength.

Research

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/95361059.html

Research

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:n-n9UX3Lc7IJ:www.texastop10.princeton.edu/reports/misc/basing_college_admission.pdf+class+rank+columnist+high+school&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Research

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-96591-Rich-more-likely-to-cheat

Research

How About Better Parents?

Columnist Thomas Friedman seeks to lighten the burden of teachers to give students a great education. In his column "How About Better Parents?", Friedman illustrates how parents give a significant influence in a student's education. Parents who are more active in the school life of their children produce children who score higher as opposed to parents who are more indifferent to their child's daily learning. Active participation can include asking how a child's day was a school, reading with the child at an early age, monitoring homework and rewarding their efforts. Showing a genuine interest in the wellbeing of a student can seriously boost their academic achievements. Regardless of socioeconomic background, parents who value the social connection between parent and student will see an average of 25 points higher in the PISA test, the "equivalent of well over half a school year".

Research

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=108&sid=87525ec6-89b1-48ee-948f-409fe597b7be%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=eric&AN=EJ860918

The following study by Rebecca Zwick and Jennifer Greif Green revealed that "high school grades and class rank have larger correlations with family income and education than is evident in the results of typical analyses". Therefore, they state that high school scores and class rank are only associated with that particular school, as each administration grades differently. However, national tests such as the SAT or the ACT "have smaller associations with socioeconomic factors". These tests are without bias and are a better gauge of a student's academic prowess. A successful student at his or her high school can simply have the time and money to have additional study.
However, the same can apply towards national academic tests. Students of a high socioeconomic status have the resources to allow them to score higher in these aptitude tests, such as additional studies and practice tests that warrant money that students of socioeconomic troubles may not have. Therefore, this study is not completely credible. 

Research

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=19&sid=76ad4aa3-4f07-4929-8626-4c2b8432644b%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=eric&AN=EJ763892

Research

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=127&sid=3509a59f-4f98-4c57-851e-b66e11ed466a%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=eric&AN=EJ893892

This document is a study of the correlation between Advanced Placement tests scores of students in high school and their success in the first semester of their University life. This study shows that AP test scores better document the capabilities of a student as opposed to the outdated class ranking systems that high schools have adopted. The study stated that "Regardless of ethnicity, gender, class rank or SAT score, students with advanced placement earned higher first semester college GPAs than their counterparts with similar high school academic characteristics, but who lacked advanced placement credit". This document shows that AP test scores are a better indicator of academic achievement than any other score or category that the students fall into.

Research

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=122&sid=3509a59f-4f98-4c57-851e-b66e11ed466a%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=eric&AN=EJ780518
This document covers the system in which high schools rank students. Test scores, difficulty of courses, class rank, and grade point average are the top four indicators of student success when applying to universities. In the study, 80% of high schools use a weighted GPA to determine rank, 12.6% determine rank with an unweighted GPA, 5% use both, and 2.4% use no class rank. Some school districts implement a bonus unweighted where AP/ honors classes have an additional "weight" to the unweighted GPA. In addition, many large schools are faced with numerous Valedictorians due to ties in GPA for number one in class rank.
Class rank is seen to "provide colleges with a measure of relative class standing [and] to provide the student with extrinsic incentives to take appropriately challenging courses while in high school to adequately prepare the student for a college curriculum". Both are means to increase course difficulty for students in order to challenge themselves and force them to grow.

Research

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/MagazinesDetailsPage/MagazinesDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Magazines&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE|A215121628&mode=view

The University of Colorado states that it will only admit students from the top 10 percent of their high school class. Many states have already implemented this policy, such as Florida admitting the top 20 percent and California admitting the top 4 percent. Texas universities have faced complaints that they admit a large percentage of students solely on their rank in school. School boards want a cap on students admitted solely by that policy. This policy has boosted minority enrollment in some states, but that was not the main purpose of the enacted policy. Colorado's new policy sets up a reachable criterion in which students are guaranteed admission.

Research

http://www.cbhscircuit.com/?p=54

Adam Birnbaum of Cypress Bay High School voices his opinion on class ranking in his high school. Birnbaum's column describes the importance of class rank at his school because rank, along with SAT/ ACT scores, are the two most important numbers for college applications. With class rank, students at Cypress Bay overfill their schedules with rigorous courses with the option to enroll in dual credit classes at the local college, Broward College, in order to receive additional AP 6.0 weighted GPA's. Birnbaum believes that this GPA loading is "cheating" and is unfair to students who cannot do this. In addition, Birnbaum feels that the dual-enrollment is merely for students who have interest in those additional college classes, not for students who want to boost their rank. Birnbaum believes that students should choose curriculums based on what students enjoy and that the rank system or the dual-enrollment should be altered or eliminated all together if the GPA loading does not stop.

Research

http://smeharbinger.net/opinion/editorial/editorial-class-rank-should-be-eliminated

An anonymous student from Shawnee Mission East High School advocates for the elimination of class rank at his or her high school in Kansas. The student believes that class rank is ineffective because its only criterion is GPA and doesn't take any extracurricular activities to account such as sports, musical talents, or artistic "prowess". In addition, the differences between two adjacent ranks is calculated to the ten-thousandth point; that minute difference determines the rank between students. Shawnee Mission East's principal agrees with the elimination, stating that "The reality is that schools should never squelch the dreams of its students". The principal believes that students should not be labelled with a number and that class rank misrepresents students in more elite schools such as Shawnee Mission East. 

Research

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/memorial-news/article/Class-rank-matters-to-many-universities-3323382.php

 Eight Texas universities have revealed their systems in enrolling prospecting students. All eight universities stated that class rank plays an important roll for incoming applicants. In UT Austin, students are viewed more holistically, taking in to account extracurricular activities, test scores, and school profiles. In addition, UT Austin allows the top eight percent of schools guaranteed admissions. If incoming students do not give a class rank, then UT Austin will simply assign a rank to them. Rice University's Julia Browning stated, "Class rank speaks to a student's willingness to compete". Most universities claim that class rank makes admission easier and more efficient. Texas A&M mostly looks at "rigor of courses and class rank". Class rank is mandatory for applicants there, or else they will not be admitted.

Research (Seventh Post of Many)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/education/claremont-mckenna-college-says-it-exaggerated-sat-figures.html?ref=us

Claremont McKenna College, a small top liberal arts school, admitted to inflating SAT scores of incoming students in order to boost rankings for the college. Officials were shocked that the dishonesty of the school and the motivation to commit such an act. The college will be removed from next year's ranking list for private colleges.
This article provides insight on the horrors of ranking systems. Claremont McKenna College resorted to dishonesty in order to boost their ranking, and the same may happen in high schools regarding students and students themselves regarding their own grades. In addition, this article further proves that students are merely viewed as numbers and scores under a ranking system.

Research (Sixth Post of Many)

http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/02/23/1975382/beaufort-high-principal-says-he.html

Principal Dan Durbin of Beaufort High School admitted that he changed 200 grades for 33 students over the past two years. He stated that each case was handled individually. He changed the grades for students in order to give students the motivation to learn from mistakes and move on. Durbin states, "I hope the message I sent students was that you're not just a number," he said. "If you try hard and work hard, we'll work with you." Durbin believes that new principals only treat students as numbers while he chooses to treat students as individuals with human needs.
Regardless, Durbin's actions are against standard procedure, so he will resign from his position. His actions to bumping up students grades show that class ranks are necessary in the event of grade inflation so that colleges and other administrations are able to see how students perform relative to their peers.
In addition, Durbin's actions reveal the discontent that students are treated as merely numbers for school administration now.

Research (Fifth Post of Many)

http://www.thesagonline.com/2012/01/class-rank-pros-and-cons/

Paul Kim of Brookline High School, MA, voices his opinion on the issue of class rank on December 2011. Kim states that class ranks are only beneficial for schools with a student population with low "academic passion". With a school that implements class rank, Kim argues that competition is ignited. Kim generally believes that competition "motivates" students into pushing themselves to take more demanding courses. In addition, Kim states that school can be more "interesting" with competition as it compels students to become better academically.
With a school that does not implement class rank, Kim states that the school generally has a student population that is "academically motivated". These students are more enthusiastic about learning, and the teachers are more passionate about teaching. Competition and incentive to learn is already present without the use of class rank.

Research (Fourth Post of Many)

http://www.mndaily.com/2010/07/07/more-hs-transcripts-omit-class-rank

Miranda Taylor of Minnesota Daily reports that more and more high schools in America are eliminating class ranks. High schools understand the need to promote competition in classrooms but argue that class ranks do not provide "meaningful" competition. The top 50 students are often determined by minuscule differences in GPA, meaning nothing in the long run. Parents overlook students' accomplishments, just viewing them as the ranks assigned to them. Anya Cleaver, a high school student, voices the opinion of others when she states that test results are a better indicator of success than class ranks.
Colleges use class ranks as "one of the four primary factors the University considers when admitting freshmen". Without class rank information, college admission offices are forced to estimate student's rank, leading to less accurate admissions.
High schools have sought a third solution, where class ranks are omitted from student transcripts but can be published at the demand of the student.

Research (Third Post of Many)

Chicago Schools eliminate class rank



Many top ranked high schools in the Chicagoland area have eliminated class rankings from their programs, including "Barrington High School [that] phased out the practice in 2008, [and] high schools in Deerfield, Highland Park, Glenview, Naperville and Northbrook... in 2006" while Lake Zurich will join the trend by 2013. High schools argued that the class ranking system led to severe competition between students, but some worry that opting out of class rankings will hinder students' chances of being admitted to top tier colleges. But the trend has also hit colleges, as Northwestern, University of Chicago, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reported that they were seeing less transcripts with class rank including in them. In a time of "grade inflation and ubiquitous A's", class ranks are argued to be necessary to see how students stand relative to others. But high schools argue that the class ranks hurt students who are not top tier and force top tier students to choose schedules purely to boost their GPA. In addition, proponents of eliminating the class rank believe that wealthier, more elite schools are unfairly represented as they can only show a small percentile of their successful students.

Research (Second Post of Many)

Schools Avoid Class Ranking

Alan Finder of the New York Times reports in 2006 about the growing trend of high schools dismissing their class ranking systems from their students college applications. Angry, colleges argue that class ranking helps colleges see the excellence of a student relative to the rest of the class of the school. Without a ranking system, colleges are forced to weigh standardized test scores more heavily, which hurts the students applying. High schools argue that class rankings have lead to cutthroat, high-tension competition among students, which led to a hostile learning environment. In addition, high schools stated that rankings are unfair among small schools with smaller percentiles and schools with a highly elite class. High schools argue that the difference between the top 10 and the top 20 in schools is minute; without a class ranking, colleges are forced to look at students more fully rather than just the number assigned to them. 

Research (First Post of Many)

What Class Rank Says About Health

Roni Rabin of New York Times reports that research and studies have shown that students with better class ranks have better health. Students who perform better in school tend to have acquire occupations with more job security than students who perform poorly. In addition, high class ranked students have better habits and manage their life better. The high-level of learning increases critical thinking and cognitive skills needed in life. Generally, high ranked students have the "psychological characteristics" of a hardworking student such as diligence, time management, responsibility, and they are able to learn and operate more effectively.

Monday Matters: Controversy #3

Ban illegal immigrants from state colleges

Jeremy Redmon and Laura Diamond of Atlanta Journal Constitution give insight on the new legislation of Georgia sponsored by Republican lawmakers that would effectively prevent illegal immigrants from attending Georgia colleges. The legislation requires incoming students to provide verifiable identification that will be run through a federal database in order to attend the state colleges or universities. Georgia's University System opposes the legislation as they already address the issue of illegal immigrants, stating that they either turn away academically unqualified students or require illegal students to pay out-of-state tuition to attend. Opponents argue that this legislation does not solve the real issue, the declining standard of education in Georgia, by further limiting educational opportunities for students. In addition, other opponents voice their concern that the tightening identification requirements will slow the issuance of certain licenses and permits that hinders economic development.

Monday Matters: Controversy #2

The White House No Longer Views Illegal Immigration As A Crime

Hanson of Investor's Business Daily offers his opinion on the White House's new perspective on illegal immigration. The Obama Administration stated that "it will focus enforcement only on those who have committed crimes — with the implicit understanding that it is no longer a crime to illegally enter and reside in the United States". Hanson voices his concern towards this policy, stating that illegal immigration is not just a one-time crime as the immigrants lie frequently on their job applications of their origins. In addition, the cheap labor that illegal aliens give damages the labor value of actual American citizens. Hanson also emphasizes the unfairness of this policy, as it punishes people seeking legal immigration with delay or rejection while awarding illegal immigrants for breaking the law and seeking to the American border. Hanson states that he is in affirmation of having the illegal immigrants test for proficiency, American citizenship, or pay a fine but reiterates that many illegal aliens would not be willing to comply with those demands. 

Monday Matters: Controversy

Path to Green Card for Illegal Immigrants

Julia Preston of the New York Times reported that the Obama administration was working on facilitating the procedure of getting an American green card for illegal immigrants related to legal American citizens. The current policy states that the American citizens must apply for green cards for their illegal immigrant relatives while the immigrants are deported back to their home country. Upon deportation, the aliens are barred from entering America for years even after eligibility for legal residency. Waivers for this barring are available but hard to obtain. The Obama administration seeks to establish the use of provisional waivers for the aliens before deportation so that they will most definitely come back to the States after eligibility for legal residency has been approved. In addition, this action does not require the approval of Congress, so the process can be applied quickly and efficiently. In doing so, the waiting time for legal residency will be cut down significantly. This policy has been met with positive feedback from the Latino population.

Monday Matters - Hola, Columnists! Synthesis

     Thomas Friedman is one of the nation's most well-known columnist as he seeks to give his perspective on issues both domestically and internationally. Like Friedman's popular book The Lexus and the Olive Tree which depicts society's constant struggle between new innovations and old traditions, the world as depicted by Friedman is filled with struggles between differing factions. Friedman's main focus in his pieces is analyzes the issues and finding corresponding solutions, or at least better scenarios.
     As a columnist, Thomas Friedman constantly asks the readers: "How can we make this situation better?" Friedman always looks for ways for people to achieve a desired effect in a situation. In regard to America's declining education, Friedman evaluates the correlation between academic achievement and the role of the parent in a student's academic career. Although Friedman acknowledges the importance of excellent teachers, he provides a different outlook in which parents can contribute to a stronger learning environment as well, allowing parents to take partial blame for the academic decline. In addition, in his analysis of the upcoming Egypt elections Friedman is quick to realize that the two strongest parties, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist Nour Party hold strong religious conservatism. Friedman's solution to those to want more liberties and more freedom is for secular divisions to ban together in order to take control of Egypt's new government.
    Thomas Friedman always notices impending danger in situations. Friedman adds extra emphasis on dissension between differing factions such as the situation in Egypt, Syria, and even Iraq. In these revolutions, Friedman is concerned with factions fighting amongst themselves rather than working together to promote peace and prosperity. He firmly believes that parties should ban together against adversity such as his call to action for the youths of Syria in order to thwart the human rights violations of the reigning regime. With Iraq, Friedman praises the ability for the Kurds, the Sunnis, and the Shiites to ban together in peace to form a new democratic government.
    In his many articles, Friedman holds an objective but rather optimistic view of the world. Although Friedman is aware of the dangers and disasters of society, he always looks for solutions or alleviations to problems. Friedman analyzes situations and his statements always have reasoning behind them. With strong knowledge and firm support, Friedman often knows what to do in many situations. His credibility as a columnist is unbeatable.

Monday Matters - Hola, Columnists! #4

US Forces finally out of Iraq

Thomas Friedman of New York Times analyzes the costs and benefits of the war on Iraq and speculates on Iraq's future. He states that the Iraqi war cost too much for it to be a success: in American lives, Iraqi lives, American dollars, and time. Later, Friedman analyzes how the war was mainly between the Al Qaeda and their ideology versus the Western/ American mentality. For the war's benefits, Friedman congratulates Iraq's first ever agreement between the state's Sunni, Shiite, and Kurd people. Friedman is anxious for the future of Iraq because if the different ethnic groups can coexist, it can become a strong democracy needed in the volatile Arab world.

Friedman views the war on Iraq extremely objectively. Throughout the column, Friedman analyzed the pros and cons of the war as well as speculated as to how Iraq can blossom into a full-fletched democratic state. He refers to a number of states undergoing the same issue as Iraq and really raises the question of unity among ethnic groups in Iraq. Friedman also includes Russia in his example of how Iraq could become in the future, a loosely-held democracy, with a brief mentioning of how Russia is finally turning towards a stronger democracy in the event of new thinking. Friedman wants to let the American people whether or not the Iraqi war was worth it and how Iraq can blossom and really make all the American lives and money worth it.