Class rank is a measure of how a student's performance compares to other students in their

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...

. It is commonly also expressed as a

percentile In statistics, a ''k''-th percentile (percentile score or centile) is a score ''below which'' a given percentage ''k'' of scores in its frequency distribution falls (exclusive definition) or a score ''at or below which'' a given percentage fall ...

. For instance, a student may have a GPA better than 750 of their classmates in a graduating class of 800.

Use in high schools

The use of class rank is currently in practice at about less than half of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s. Large public schools are more likely to rank their students than small

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

s. Because many admissions officers were frustrated that many applications did not contain a rank, some colleges are using other information provided by high schools, in combination with a student's GPA to estimate a student's class rank. Many colleges say that the absence of a class rank forces them to put more weight on

standardized test A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...

scores.

Use in college admissions

Colleges often use class rank as a factor in

college admissions University admission or college admission is the process through which students enter tertiary education at universities and colleges. Systems vary widely from country to country, and sometimes from institution to institution. In many countries, ...

, although because of differences in grading standards between schools, admissions officers have begun to attach less weight to this factor, both for granting admission, and for awarding

scholarships A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

. Class rank is more likely to be used at large schools that are more formulaic in their admissions programs.

Percent plans

Some U.S. states guarantee that students who achieve a high enough class rank at their high school will be admitted into a

state university A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. State univer ...

, in a practice known as ''percent plans''. Students in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

who are in the top nine percent of their graduating class, and students in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

who are in the top twenty percent of their graduating class are guaranteed admission to some state school, but not necessarily any particular institution. The

University of Alaska system The University of Alaska System is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was created in 1917 and comprises three separately accredited universities on 19 campuses. The system serves nearly 30,000 full- and part-time stu ...

awards an $11,000 scholarship for four years to students in the top 10% of their graduating class at Alaskan high schools. The top ten percent of students in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

high schools are guaranteed admission to the

state school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools ( Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in ...

of their choice, excluding the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, which only allocates 75% of its incoming freshman class seats to top 6% members.

References

External links

DESPERATELY SEEKING DIVERSITY; The 10 Percent Solution

A global student and university ranking system (www.thestudentranking.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Class Rank Student assessment and evaluation Educational evaluation methods

Use in high schools

Use in college admissions

Percent plans

See also

References

External links