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.