Policy to be reviewed at meeting
By:Donna Lukiw
The Board of Education on Tuesday will consider ending class ranks at Manville High School.
"A lot of districts aren’t using class rank because colleges aren’t looking at class rank," High School Vice Principal John Grebeck said. "The feedback I get from colleges is that they don’t look at class rank."
Currently, students in the high school are ranked and compared to their classmates based on their grade point average.
But a growing number of area schools have dropped the class ranking system, including Princeton High School, Rutgers Prep, Bridgewater-Raritan High School and Watchung Hills High School.
Somerville, Bound Brook and North Plainfield public high schools have examined the issue and still use class ranking, and Hillsborough’s Board of Education has been considering a proposal to drop ranking for more than a year.
Mr. Grebeck said the board would decide when the policy would take effect.
Area schools attach varying levels of importance to the rankings but most said it’s only one of a number of factors considered for admission.
Rutgers University considers class rank a part of the college’s application process and even if schools do not offer class rank on the student’s transcripts, Rutgers will still ask the high school’s guidance department to provide those numbers.
Mr. Grebeck said colleges tend to look at the whole package including what the student’s involvement is in community service, sports, clubs and what courses they are enrolled in.
"We explain to them (the students) that class rank does not mean a lot," Mr. Grebeck said.
Mr. Grebeck said he hasn’t received any feedback from students disagreeing with the possible elimination of class rank.