Grafton High is saying goodbye to class rank in 2022
Grafton High School is discontinuing class rank starting with the Class of 2022, acknowledging that colleges now prefer to look at the whole student rather than just a number.
The School Committee Tuesday night, on the recommendation of GHS Principal James Pignataro and GHS Director of Counseling Sharon Buckley, unanimously supported the move.
“A rank presumes that everybody has the same opportunities in high school, and we know they don’t,” Buckley said. “This way, they’re competing against themselves and they they will be taking courses they will engage in, not just to boost their GPA.”
Many top-tier colleges in New England, and around the country, don’t require class rank for admission, preferring instead to factor in the rigor of the student’s curriculum, their community service, and their performance in an interview, Buckley said. Some colleges may request a rank for certain programs or scholarships, which the guidance department will be able to calculate.
There will still be a valedictorian and salutatorian, Pignataro said.
“In a global sense, so many students are fixed on the grade rather than what am I learning, what am I getting from this course,” Pignataro said. “We’ve been trying to focus on skills.”
Buckley added that while some students, rank is a motivator, but that tends to be a small number.
“I don’t think it’s going to have a negative impact,” she added. “If we did, we would not be entertaining it.”
James Dewar, a senior and Grafton High representative to the School Committee, was in favor of the change. “I’d say it would eliminate some of the stress about where I am in regards to other students.”
Local high schools that no longer use rank include Westborough High School and Shrewsbury High School.
“There are many ways to highlight yourself than where you rank in a class of 188 people,” Buckley said. “The skills and the things that you develop around successfully completing high school are what going to propel you.”
