The system that ranks high school students based on their grades is going away in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
School board members voted Wednesday to eliminate class rank in a narrow 5-4 decision that drew some strong opposition.
“Competition is healthy and academic stress is meaningful,” said Board member Bob Leib, who voted against the change. “Heck, why give grades at all?”
Leib argued that class rank could help students deal with real-life situations later on, such as competing in the job market.
“Stress in our students’ younger years can and should be a learning experience,” he said.
But supporters of the move have argued that the stress students endure under a ranking system is unnecessary and potentially harmful to their mental health.
The change is set to take effect for students who start high school in the 2021-2022 school year.
Many school systems around the country have already eliminated class rank, including neighboring Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland and Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.
Under the changes taking place in Anne Arundel County, the school system will keep its valedictorian and salutatorian honors, allowing students with a weighted GPA of 4.3 or higher to be candidates.
The difference is schools will now be able to choose their valedictorians and salutatorians based on qualities other than grades, such as character and leadership abilities.
Student Board Member Josie Urrea, one of the leaders of the effort to eliminate class rank, initially also wanted to eliminate Latin Honors.
She said she changed her mind on that after talking with community members who wanted to keep that piece in place.
