Albemarle County is considering an end to class rank after two months of discussion.

Beginning with a feeder pattern meeting in September, Assistant Superintendent Billy Haun led an investigation into class rank and college admissions. After much discussion with parents, college admissions officers, and the County Student Advisory Council, Haun developed a proposal for changing class rank, and presented it to the school board on Oct. 10.

Haun’s presentation noted that “more than half of all high schools no longer report student rankings to colleges,” and that “rigor is the most important factor in college admissions decisions.” Haun explained that he thinks ending class rank would be beneficial to students and would potentially ease the admissions process for students.

Presently, decile ranking is reported on college applications and serves as a comparison of WAHS students to one another. Deciles are determined by a ranking of weighted grade point averages (GPAs).  This year, the first decile represents a weighted GPA of 4.57 to 4.71, the second decile from 4.33 to 4.56, and so forth.

Students have debated both sides of the issue, which  calls for an end to the reporting of class rank on students’ college applications.

“I don’t support [the current class rank system] because my sister was the 26th person [out of the top 25] last year, and she had to put it on her college applications, even though they realized it was less than a one percent difference,” junior Madeline Chaillet said. Chaillet’s sister, Aubrie Chaillet, placed at the top of the second decile at the beginning of her senior year, and despite working her way into the first decile by the end of senior year, was required to report her second decile rank on her college applications that fall. Aubrie is currently in her first year at UVA.

“I think it’s silly that we have to rank people because you’re still smart if you aren’t in the first decile,” Chaillet said.

Senior Cy Webb also wants to end class rank and explained that he believes there is a relationship between student health and class rank determined by decile.

“The big [issue] now is school stress and people are taking way too many APs in my opinion … but the decile system and the GPA system is pushing [students] to take all these hard classes even if they don’t want to take them because it gets them into a good school…and I think that’s definitely unfair. I think you should take what you enjoy, I think sleep is very important, I think school stress here is a big problem, and I think we should limit the [number of]  APs you can take.”

Meanwhile, opponents of a change believe that the current class rank and decile system rewards hard work and should stay in place.

“It puts a value on people who did well. They can distinguish themselves from everyone else,” said Kyle Landis, a junior. “There’s a big difference between 20 and 10 [percent].” Landis argued that earning several Bs versus straight As is an important distinction between the deciles.

Junior Hannah Pambianchi also favors the class rank system, believing that it holds students accountable to  the rigor of classes.

“I feel like students should be evaluated on the level of classes that they take and I think college like to see that students are challenging themselves,” Pambianchi said. “Weighted GPA and class rank shows how you compare when students are given the same resources and opportunities in one school.”

However, Pambianchi admitted that the weighted GPA system “needs some sort of revision” because she feels that it discourages students from pursuing their passions, such as art, music and drama.

“I don’t think rank or GPA reflects a whole person,” she said. “If you show dedication or passion in one area, even if it doesn’t raise your GPA, it reflects other aspects of you and what you want to do with your life.”

Amy Wright, director of counseling at WAHS, supports the change. “It gives an opportunity to a greater number of students to potentially get into a selective college … because it forces the admissions [offices] to look more holistically at the applications,” she said.

Nonetheless, even if class rank is removed from student applications in the future, rank will still be calculated. “ACPS will continue to report class rank for special circumstances: military academies, honors programs, scholarship opportunities and recognize honor graduates at the end of the senior year,” the report said.

At the October meeting, several board members including Eric Strucko supported the idea of discontinuing class rank, and questioned if the change could take place for the 2013-2014 school year. However, Haun noted that a substantial number of students have already submitted college applications, and that it would be impossible to change the report of class rank on applications that have already been received by admissions offices. Ultimately, the school board concluded that it would not endorse any proposed class rank changes until a later meeting.

The Board will likely come to a decision on class rank this Thursday, Nov. 14, at the County Office Building. The meeting will begin at 6:30pm, and community members are welcome to speak during the public comment period.