Class Rank Analysis

“A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself ” (Richards). In this quote, Marcus Aurelius says that a wise man will become successful by setting a goal and trying to achieve it. A foolish man will try to become successful by comparing himself to others and ultimately failing. In order to be successful at anything, one must set very high standards and work diligently to achieve those standards. Class ranking is a way for students to set a goal and achieve it. Rankings give students an idea of what goals they need to set in order to be at the top of their class. When students establish a goal, they work hard to achieve it and become triumphant. High schools should …show more content…
Class rankings are computed using a weighted GPA, so all higher level classes are taken into consideration and are used to calculate rank. By examining the rank, colleges have an idea of how challenging a student’s classes were. In addition to giving colleges an idea of how successful a student was academically in high school, rank is also used to differentiate a student from one school to another at other schools as stated in the quote, “ Grades alone are not often enough to compare a student’s performance in school because the requirements for an “A” in one school may be much more difficult or much easier than the requirements in another school” (Schneeweis). All schools do not offer the same courses to their students, so colleges use rankings as a way to establish how successful a student was in his or her high school based on the courses he or she took. Rank determines where a student stands academically in comparison to the other students in his or her class. Students who work hard, put effort into their assignments, and get their work done make better grades and thus, are ranked higher. Rank is calculated based on a student’s academic average, grades, school courses, and GPA, grade point average (Hahne). The higher a student’s GPA is, the higher his or her ranking …show more content…
The pressure of beating their peers leads students to anxiety and academic pressure along with stress. Class rank does not promote teamwork either because students become too competitive with each other as they compete among each other to get the highest rank. Administrators at schools have said, “Students are also in an environment where they are competing against each other rather than exploring careers” (Ward). High school is a place where a student starts exploring future career possibilities, but they can not do that because they are competing for the highest rank. However, what this argument fails to consider is that students need to learn to be successful and achieve their goals, and the only way they can do that, is when they compete against their peers in order to be the best. Pressure will motivate students to do better. Removing class rankings will not do anything other than kill competition and motivation. If students lose their motivation to work hard in school, their grades will start going down. If the students do not get good grades, they will not get accepted into the college of their choice, and in addition they will not get any scholarships. They will also not be able to work in a rigorous environment in the future because they were never exposed to one. By exposing students to a