District 207 Erases Class Rank Off Transcripts

Students in Maine Township High School District 207 will no longer have their class ranks routinely listed on transcripts or other documents.

School board members voted 6-0 Tuesday night to eliminate class ranking from the documents, unless students or their parents want it listed, starting next school year.

The move came at the suggestion of Barbara Dill-Varga, the assistant superintendent for curriculum. She said that in most cases, not listing a class rank is to a student's advantage in applying for college.

“What we want is a ‘do no harm’ proposal,’ ” Dill-Varga said.

Board member Edward Mueller, , did not attend the meeting.

The move will affect all enrolled students, with the total district enrollment at about 6,700.

Dill-Varga estimates that at least half of all high schools nationwide have stopped listing class ranks on student transcripts. In the Chicago suburbs, New Trier High School District 203, Stevenson High School District 125 and Glenbrook High School District 225 have already made the move.

In her recommendation, Dill-Varga suggested the administration provide information to students and parents about why withholding class rank would be beneficial to teenagers attending the district's three high schools: Maine East, Maine West and Maine South.

Board member Joanna Braam said the district should give the information directly to parents, because students do not always pass such information along.

“When we started looking at colleges with our first daughter, it was a lot of information to absorb,” Braam said.

Eliminating ranks from transcripts would reduce the emphasis on very small differences in grade point averages, reduce the advantage of students coming from less competitive high schools, discourage competition among students and make students more likely to choose classes based on their interests instead of the effect on class rank, Dill-Varga said.

Studies by several school districts that stopped  listing class rankings found students’ chances of getting into a variety of colleges were not harmed, she said.

Some parents spoke at the May school board meeting, saying students with very high class ranks might want to the information listed.

Having a way to “opt in”--most likely by a check box at the district’s Internet portal--would eliminate any difficulties for students who need to have their class ranks listed for certain colleges or scholarships. The district already allows students to choose which, if any, standardized test scores to list on their transcripts.