calculating class rank

[4luv2cdisney]

Everything I've read says that HS class rank is calculated on weighted GPA. DD has multiple friends taking the same number of classes (4 regular and 3 Honors). If they all get straight A's (highly possible) who has the higher class rank?

Do they then look at percentages earned in each class? If so, do they "weight" honors classes somehow?

Or would they all "tie" and have the same class rank?



I already know we "screwed up" by not taking one elective as pass/fail. Even with an A in the class she will have a lower GPA if any one of them took theirs pass/fail. Oh well. Live and learn!

 

[Janepod]

Everything I've read says that HS class rank is calculated on weighted GPA. DD has multiple friends taking the same number of classes (4 regular and 3 Honors). If they all get straight A's (highly possible) who has the higher class rank?

Do they then look at percentages earned in each class? If so, do they "weight" honors classes somehow?

Or would they all "tie" and have the same class rank?



I already know we "screwed up" by not taking one elective as pass/fail. Even with an A in the class she will have a lower GPA if any one of them took theirs pass/fail. Oh well. Live and learn!

At my high school, nothing was weighted. But, as so many students graduated with perfect GPAs, class rank was eliminated.

At the high school in this town, it's more complicated:
A+ = 4.34
A = 4.0
A- = 3.67
B+ = 3.34
B = 3.0
AND THEN for an honors or AP class add 0.67. So an A in AP Bio would be 4.67.

Complicated! But yes, people could tie. I assume they do.

 

[clh2]

The high school that DD went to did not weight anything related to class rank. No A+'s either.

My DD's class rank came out on every semester report card.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

The high school that DD went to did not weight anything related to class rank. No A+'s either.

My DD's class rank came out on every semester report card.

And that's even more confusing to me. Is every straight A student then ranked #1?

 

[disprincessatheart]

Do they only get letter grades? In my hs we got a number for each class, and 100 for any class was pretty rare. When you added up every class for 4 years, I doubt there were ties because even if a bunch of people had an A, they were likely not all exactly the same grade. I have to say I was number 12 of over 400, and it really didn't matter much. I will say the person who was valedictorian in my class was someone who did not take ap classes - our school did not weight levels of classes but I've been out of school for a *few* years...

 

[Hrhpd]

Everything I've read says that HS class rank is calculated on weighted GPA. DD has multiple friends taking the same number of classes (4 regular and 3 Honors). If they all get straight A's (highly possible) who has the higher class rank?

Do they then look at percentages earned in each class? If so, do they "weight" honors classes somehow?

Or would they all "tie" and have the same class rank?



I already know we "screwed up" by not taking one elective as pass/fail. Even with an A in the class she will have a lower GPA if any one of them took theirs pass/fail. Oh well. Live and learn!

Every school calculates class rank differently. Some weight only AP, some weigh AP and Honors. Some rank on unweighted. Some rank on a 5.0 scale, some don't.

That is why the majority of Universities don't pay much attention to class rank anymore. It is too hard to compare each student's class rank.

Our high school eliminated class rank because it was becoming too competitive. The school feels there is value in the non-weighted classes, but students were not taking them because of the hit to their GPA. Our Valedictorian is chosen by grades, volunteer work and school involvement.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Do they only get letter grades? In my hs we got a number for each class, and 100 for any class was pretty rare. When you added up every class for 4 years, I doubt there were ties because even if a bunch of people had an A, they were likely not all exactly the same grade. I have to say I was number 12 of over 400, and it really didn't matter much. I will say the person who was valedictorian in my class was someone who did not take ap classes - our school did not weight levels of classes but I've been out of school for a *few* years...

The only thing that shows on the report card is letter grades, GPA, and class rank. I know how the letter grade and GPA is calculated. I just didn't understand the class rank, because there could be a lot of kids with the exact same GPA.

I am able to go online and see her classwork and the percent she receives on every graded assignment, test, etc. So, I know which class she eeked out an A in and which ones she really excelled in, but here are no +'s or -'s at our school.

 

[Hrhpd]

The only thing that shows on the report card is letter grades, GPA, and class rank. I know how the letter grade and GPA is calculated. I just didn't understand the class rank, because there could be a lot of kids with the exact same GPA.

You would need to ask your counseling office how they calculate class rank as there is no specific formula for it.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Every school calculates class rank differently. Some weight only AP, some weigh AP and Honors. Some rank on unweighted. Some rank on a 5.0 scale, some don't.

That is why the majority of Universities don't pay much attention to class rank anymore. It is too hard to compare each student's class rank.

Our high school eliminated class rank because it was becoming too competitive. The school feels there is value in the non-weighted classes, but students were not taking them because of the hit to their GPA. Our Valedictorian is chosen by grades, volunteer work and school involvement.

Our school is considering eliminating it, but then said they'd still have to keep track because so many colleges ask for class rank.

 

[irish dancer]

DD15s HS does not calculate class rank, haven't for a few years. They do weight GPAs, .33 for Honors and .66 for AP classes. They provide colleges a grade distribution for every department, the school wide grading scale and a grade range sampling for that graduating class. There is a valedictorian but I don't know how they determine who it is and since I know DD is not in the ballpark I'm not worried about how they figure it out.

If you have a question about your school the guidance department would probably be able to answer how they calculate rankings.

 

[Aliceacc]

My school does not weigh classes. Class rank is based on a straight average, to the thousandths place. If there's a tie, the two kids share the same rank.

Not all "A's" are created equal. An "A" could mean a 93, or it could mean a 100. Since our report cards have numeric grades, it's easier to determine class rank.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

And that's even more confusing to me. Is every straight A student then ranked #1?

We only graduated two 4.0 students in a class of 289 when I was in HS. These things tend to work themselves out in time - assuming the school is doing a good job of challenging the students.

 

[disneydentist]

I have to agree with the previous poster, the only way to know how class rank is calculated in Your school is to ask. The systems do vary wildly.

Our is based on the numeric grade and the class weighting. We have four different weightings (including AP). Each numeric grade from 70-100 has a GPA value assigned to it for each of the four weightings.

 

[kamik86]

Mine did numeric grades. I don't know if they were weighted but I would guess so since all of the top 10 or so students took all the honors classes available each year (which was like 2 and the school had no APs)

However on college applications most asked if the grades were weighted. So if they weren't a slightly lower class rank with many APs wouldn't look so bad.

 

[Green Tea]

In ours it is just as you say, the weighted GPA is calculated. But it is cumulative over so many years that the chance of a true tie isn't as likely as the scenario you point out of the group of friends this year. With our school, it goes back through every high school course, many of which were actually taken in middle school. That is a lot of semesters to figure in.

 

[PlutoPony]

Class rank is based on weighted GPA here, and is listed on transcripts (GPA, class rank, number of students in graduating class). Also class rank and GPA are recalculated at the end of each semester. At the end of junior year, top 10% of my son's class were all 4.0 or higher. Because his school has very few weighted classes available until sophomore and junior year, class rank at the end of freshman year meant very little. It really seemed to sort itself out junior year and at the end of that year your GPA/rank are pretty much what colleges use in acceptance decisions.

 

[daughtersrus]

At our school, the only way to be ranked in the top 10 is to be in band. If you don't play an instrument, you have no chance. Band classes are the only electives that are offered in the honors tract. There have been a lot of heated discussions about this. Even if you take the highest level (honors, AP...) and get straight A's you but not band, will still be out of the top rankings because your electives are not weighted.

You can't really compare GPA from one district to another either. Our district recently changed to be in line with others in our area. Before that, you needed at least 92 for an A. A 90 was a solid B but in other districts it was an A.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

In ours it is just as you say, the weighted GPA is calculated. But it is cumulative over so many years that the chance of a true tie isn't as likely as the scenario you point out of the group of friends this year. With our school, it goes back through every high school course, many of which were actually taken in middle school. That is a lot of semesters to figure in.

Yes, I see your point. Over 3 -4 years there will be a larger variety in # of classes taken and type of class taken. AP classes will become available and additional Honors classes as a Sophomore, Junior and Senior.

I don't know what is being discussed in school by the teachers and administration, but I do know these girls are awful chatty about this stuff. They seem quite obsessed with grades, GPA and class rank. I just want to understand it to be able to discuss it with her (she puts a lot of pressure on herself). In my family, I was one of the few to graduate high school. Nobody ever talked to me about college. The assumption was we were too poor to even consider it. I did attend our local community college at night while working full time. In researching this stuff for my own kid, I am finding that I probably could have gotten into a pretty good school and with a large amount of financial aid. GRRR!

We only graduated two 4.0 students in a class of 289 when I was in HS. These things tend to work themselves out in time - assuming the school is doing a good job of challenging the students.

DD attends a HS that is quite challenging. It ranks in the top 4% in the nation and our district is one of only 539 making National AP Honor Roll. There are students getting perfect SAT scores and there are many students who graduate with straight A's for all four years. Not trying to brag about this.....I am afraid the competitiveness of our school may impact her negatively come time for college admission.

DD's freshman class has over 600 students and many take more than 3 Honors classes. I am just concerned about her falling to the bottom of the class rank (despite what would be top grades in a different high school).

I am going to wait to see what her class rank is when the report card is officially posted next week and then call and get the details on how it was calculated.

Thanks everyone!

 

[4luv2cdisney]

At our school, the only way to be ranked in the top 10 is to be in band. If you don't play an instrument, you have no chance. Band classes are the only electives that are offered in the honors tract. There have been a lot of heated discussions about this. Even if you take the highest level (honors, AP...) and get straight A's you but not band, will still be out of the top rankings because your electives are not weighted.

You can't really compare GPA from one district to another either. Our district recently changed to be in line with others in our area. Before that, you needed at least 92 for an A. A 90 was a solid B but in other districts it was an A.

Geesh! That doesn't seem right! We are all about music in this house and my kids could possibly use this to their advantage, but I still think it's unfair!

 

[PlutoPony]

Geesh! That doesn't seem right! We are all about music in this house and my kids could possibly use this to their advantage, but I still think it's unfair!

If your child is in a competitive class and is trying to graduate at the top of their class, they will soon figure out that they can't afford to take any non-weighted classes or electives if they want to keep their place. IMO that's such a shame, electives are a good opportunity to check out something before you get to college and need to decide on a major