By Spencer Inglett ’19 & Josh Belgrad ’19
THE ROUNDUP
Grade point average is something some people don’t want to talk about and others love to gloat about, and can be a touchy subject to bring up.
Class rank is the process of ranking people by number based upon their weighted or unweighted grade point average.
This practice comes into question especially during the college application process for season, where class rank is one of many factors in determining the admissions result of an applicant.
Class rank is an optional metric on the Common Application due to the desire to include all applicants from different schools and walks of life, and does not give the student with class rank an advantage against an student whose school does not offer it.
In the past, Brophy has not calculated its students’ class rank, and should continue to not do so in order to preserve the “brotherhood” and collaboration that this campus thrives on.
Ranking students by number creates a cutthroat atmosphere that places an extreme emphasis on competing against other members of their class, where students will be forced to abandon the cooperative and communal environment that is currently present on campus.
Additionally, many universities recalculate the GPAs they are given from transcripts, nullifying the verity of the class rank.
Brophy is focused on the cura personalis or the whole of the person rather just the number of a GPA. GPA does not determine the rank of a person.
If GPA were to be effective, it would somehow have to be a more holistic view of the student, which already is accomplished by the schools that need it.
Leaving class rank out allows for a more even playing field and less competition, which is ultimately going to allow for more growth.
Additionally, class rank does not take into account personal circumstance. If one needs to miss a lot of school for personal reasons such as death in a family, or illness and as a result can not perform as well in the classroom, this would be left unconsidered in terms of class rank.
The bottom line is that students are already held on an even playing field through standardized testing. This leaves behind all circumstance and just focuses on the 4 hours of test taking and the knowledge students have.
Class rank does not tell us anything that any other metric does not tell us. We already know our students are brilliant through our 16 national merit finalists and 22 commended scholars.
We already submit our GPA to schools so what new information does a class rank based on GPA provide?
Brophy’s awards assembly is another way that we measure excellence that is totally unrelated to grades in the classroom. Awards are decided strictly on teacher recommendation and has nothing to do with grades.
The most unique thing Brophy does to stand for from the side of grade importance is their Valedictorian selection. Most schools select their Valedictorians based on highest GPA in the class. Instead, focusing on the whole person rather than a number, has this student selected by a vote by the students answering the question “Who in your class is the best representation of Brophy to the the greater community?”
This is beneficial because aside from the number, the person with the best GPA may not be the best representation.
Brophy is consistent with their views of cura personalis and leads to a balanced community rather than a community of competition and stress which is why a class rank system is not necessary.
