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In May 2016, the Wake County school board unanimously approved the Latin Honors tiered approach to recognition, eliminating the naming of Valedictorian.  To quote Superintendent Benton “We have heard from many, many schools that the competition has become very unhealthy, Students were not collaborating with each other the way that we would like them to. Their choice of courses was being guided by their GPA and not their future education plans. "

We, the students and parents of WCPSS, request the removal of the root cause of the competition - class rank. We are requesting that WCPSS provide students in the Class of 2023 the option to withhold class rank for out of state colleges, scholarship programs, and private universities.  WCPSS claims state law prohibits the removal of class rank.  It does not.  

Furthermore, state laws can - and should be changed - few (if any) other states legislate class rank, and certainly no other state has a system as misguided as North Carolina. We request WCPSS champion legislation to fully remove class rank in favor of Latin Honors for Class of 2024 and beyond. 

We propose two phases:

1. Provide the Class of 2023 the option to remove class rank for out-of-state schools and private universities.  GS 116-11-10(a) only applies to the UNC system.
2. Pass legislation to fully remove class rank in favor of Latin Honors for Class of 2024

For additional information and actions, visit stopclassrank.com

Many of us thought Latin Honors replaced class rank.  The Panther Creek school newspaper said “PCHS is taking a new approach to class rank and the valedictorian.  PC has decided that instead of giving students a rank that tells them how they compare to other students in their grade they will instead separate students into what is essentially GPA ‘tiers”.  

Instead, WCPSS class ranks are more detrimental than ever. 

1. Latin Honors - due to the introduction of Latin Honors, some students knew about class rank and chose courses accordingly, while others were unaware of the competition for class rank.  The students aware of class rank had an unfair advantage.
2. Virtual Academy/Plan A/B/C - schools were split in two during the pandemic, creating even more scheduling pressure than typical. Given NC class rank policy is based on weighted GPA, students who received their primary course choices have an unfair advantage over students who received lower weighted courses.  Scheduling problems are also a systemic class rank issue, exacerbated by the pandemic. 
3. Class of 2023 - PC19 - students aware of class rank disregarded advice to keep numeric grades, and artificially raised their weighted GPA, and therefore class rank.  The two grading systems are in the same rank, providing PC19 users an unfair advantage.  The differential can be so extreme that a student who receives four 69s and two 80s is ranked ahead of a student who received all 100s, in the exact same courses.  
4. Course selection - students are encouraged to balance their schedules, not to overload on APs, and select courses for career and personal interests - academic courses like Technology Engineering and Design, Biomedical Technology, and fine art courses in dance, theater, and music.  In the absence of class rank, this is correct advice, but this advice precluded these students from achieving top class ranks. Removing class rank allows students to choose the courses they are interested in, and achieve their own balance between in class courses and extracurricular activities.
5. Other schools stopped ranking - Since 2016, the trend to drop class rank has accelerated.  Nationwide, only 40% of schools still rank - with almost all private schools and similarly competitive high schools no longer ranking.  Less than 25% of applicants to elite universities including Cornell, Brown, and CalTech submit rankings.  When a rank is provided, universities hone in on class rank, ever conscious of their own class rank statistics, and with far fewer candidates to achieve these statistics.

The stated goal of Latin Honors - reducing unhealthy competition - will never be achieved until the root cause of the problem, class rank, is removed, in line with similar counties nationwide. Let the students of WCPSS be evaluated on their academic performance in high school, not on a metric disconnected from the grades they earned in their classes. Let them be free to apply to colleges and scholarships without fears of being disqualified.