In 2017, Berkley High School moved away from class rank for all students. This new plan was first enacted for the Class of 2019. The letter below was sent to the BHS community from then principal Randy Gawel explaining the decsion.
March 28, 2017
Dear Berkley High School Parents and Students:
Sometimes organizations do things because they have always done those things in a particular way, not because it makes sense to continue to do so. Practices are often continued because it is easier to just move forward with them rather than to review them and, if finding them to be no longer necessary, end them. Class ranking in high schools has been one of those things.
After much research and careful consideration, it has been decided that starting with the class of 2019, and for each successive class thereafter, Berkley High School will be ending the practice of ranking students. We will be doing this for a number of reasons:
- The process of positioning themselves for a particular rank within the class causes undue and unnecessary stress on students and takes the focus away from learning.
- Students take courses based upon the impact on class rank, not because the content of the course is of interest to them.
- Students often do not take a challenging course because they are afraid that it will hurt their class rank.
- Students have in the past opted to not participate in fine or performing arts classes because these courses are not grade-weighted and lower their class rank.
- Colleges and universities (both state and national) have reported to us that whether or not a high school ranks students makes no difference at all in admissions, as they use a multitude of factors in the admissions process.
- Many of the top high schools in Oakland County (Bloomfield Hills, Novi, Birmingham, West Bloomfield, Troy, Rochester) no longer rank, and we will be joining them.
Please know that we are making this decision with the best interests of our students in mind, both for the time that they are enrolled here at BHS and with an eye to their future. If you have any questions about this decision, please do not hesitate to contact myself or your child’s counselor.
Yours in Education,
Randy Gawel
