Class Rank FAQ’s Why has Lyons Township High School eliminated class rank?
Nationally, the use of class rank has been used less and less as an indicator for college acceptance, falling behind GPA, rigorous coursework, the student essay, and even student interest in attending the school. (National Association of College Admissions Counselors) Very little difference exists across 50 places in a ranking at large, highly competitive school like LT. Students at LT ranked in the middle (500th) have a weighted GPA of 3.2 and un‐weighted GPA of 2.9. Students in the middle at LT have ACT and other test scores higher than many other schools’ middle ranked students. More LT students will have the opportunity to be accepted into colleges based on coursework and grades instead of a measure against his/her peers. Students may choose courses they are interested in rather than taking one that might provide a higher rank. Most schools similar to LT have eliminated rank, putting LT students at a disadvantage when being compared for admission, especially when a student has a rank lower than the top 5%.
Other than LT, who else has eliminated rank? Evanston, Maine Township West, South & East, Glenbrook North & South, New Trier, Stevenson, Highland Park, Deerfield, Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Naperville North & Central, Hinsdale Central & South, Wheaton/Warrenville South, Wheaton North, Fenwick, Lake Zurich, Barrington, Lake Forest, St. Charles, Conant, Fremd, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Schaumburg, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove, Wheeling, Hersey, Rolling Meadows, Prospect, Joliet Central & West, Niles West & North, Stagg, Sandberg, Andrew, IMSA, Benet, St. Ignatius, Mother McAuley, St. Viator, Providence, Oak Park River Forest
How will students be recognized without ranking? The decision on how to recognize honor graduates has not been decided. A recommendation will be brought to the Curriculum Committee of the Board of Education in the fall. Ideas include awarding students who meet specific criteria (i.e. 5.0+ or 4.5‐4.99 weighted GPA) with an award distinction upon graduation.
When is the earliest that this change will take place? The current freshman class (Class of 2017) will be the first to graduate without a rank. All classes to graduate prior to 2017 will still be ranked and will still have a valedictorian and a salutatorian.
How will ranking information be shared between now and the graduation of the class of 2016?
As of May 19, the unofficial ranking information has been removed from Infinite Campus. Two weeks following the end of a semester, an official weighted and un‐weighted rank will be calculated for student in the classes of 2014, 2015 and 2016. An official weighted and un‐weighted rank will be placed on the report card and transcript of students in the classes of 2014, 2015, and 2016. For the class of 2017 and thereafter, no official rank will be calculated. Information will be provided regarding the high, median and low ranks for comparative purposes will be placed on the school profile that gets sent to every school along with an official transcript
