Thursday, November 1, 2007
RANKING SENIORS - THAT IS THE QUESTION!
For those of you who have been reading our blog, there has been some previous discussion by parents and students regarding ranking of students in their senior year. Ranking lets students and colleges know how they are performing in relation to the rest of their class. This is done by giving each student a number based on the grades they achieved during their high school career. This number can then be converted into a percentage so that colleges can be informed of how each student did in relation to the rest of the students in their grade. We are in the process of deciding whether or not to rank seniors. So ranking seniors - that is the question! What do you think? Tell us why or why not!
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13 comments:
If this is something the colleges are looking at, I am all for it! I think the children that work hard deserve the acknowledgement!
I concur!
(in response to daniellesmom)
absolutely not.
I feel that it will lead to
tension between the students.
If our school does not want competition, then why were there plusses and minuses added into the grading system? Also, with the Merit / Honor / Excellence Roll sheets hanging up, it's easy to see which students improved their grades. Competition is definitely in the school--ranking would justlet hardworking students show their achievements in terms of percentiles. I know that Styvessant has no rankings, but those students almost all get As. Here, a ranking system would more clearly illustrate which students perform better, opposed to a school where even someone ranked lowly has a 90 average.
As for Ashley F: You shouldn’t worry about ranking. You are one of the smartest people I know, and you’re in AP. If anything, the fact that you are a high-achieving student will make your ranking even more appealing to colleges.
Most high schools rank students, and it is used by most colleges. Whether you rank or not, colleges are looking at numbers along with other student achievements.
Mrs. Kaplan
It's sort of sad that colleges feel the need to look at ranking. How someone does academically in comparison to another should not be considered in the application process. Individual qualities and merits are what should be really evaluated.
This is, however, not the case, as we all know. Therefore, I am in favor of ranking because it should motivate and encourage students to reach the standing they want to be at.
Besides, Ash, I think our school's too awesome for there to be tension over grades. I don't think many juniors really care whether or not someone is doing better than they are; they're just concerned with how they are doing personally. And Teresa does have a point about Merit/Honor/Excellance sheets hanging up. Everyone can essentially know everyone else's grades that way. At least ranking could potentially kept private!
I think that the reality is that colleges are looking at this. Whether I agree with ranking philosophically or not or whether part or all of our school community does won't change this fact. Because of this I think ranking is important and should be done. Our students should not have to face any negative effects when they apply to college that could potentially result from not ranking.
Ms Brooks
While I feel that ranking acknowledges student achievement, I also feel that it discourages students who are trying their best but do not perform well. It also cause unnecessary competition.
So Holing: ranking or not ranking; that is the question!!!! The debate continues!
Aimee Horowitz said...
I don't know on what basis you claim that our grading system is laughable since it is used by a number of other prestigious public and private high schools throughout the city, who have excellent records of getting their students in Ivy League and other colleges. In fact, if you wish to discuss this further, you should arrange to meet with me and I will be happy to inform you about the host of other schools throughout the city that use a letter grading system. Just for your information, colleges also use a letter grading system.
Further, I do not appreciate your making disparaging comments to others who have posted on our blog, especially when it may be a typo. You should think about how you express yourself.
I recently heard that all schools have ranking, but whether or not they disclose that is something else to be considered. Is this true?
*Even with my typos, I carry myself respectfully on dignified blogs.
Not as far as I know! I think that you should also bring this issue to student parliament! That would be a good forum in which to continue the conversation as well as at a school wide town meeting. I believe we may have a town meeting in early December. It will be great to hear what the rest of our student body has to say on this topic. I also think that this could be a story for the newspaper. You could look at what other large and small private and public high schools in the city do as well as what other schools in the International Studies Schools Network do and why. This may help to inform our decision as a school community.
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