Informational Meeting

1
Informational Meeting

• Class Rank for
• Students Entering Ninth Grade in
• 2007-08 Beyond

2
Background Information

• Committee of parents, teachers, counselors and
  administrators convened
• Meetings held twice weekly during December and
  January
• Review of committees recommendation by Dr.
  Middleton
• Approval of amendments to policy EIC(LOCAL) on
  March 26

3
Course Options Mailed

• Packet mailed in mid-April included
• a letter explaining the policy
• a copy of the class rank policy
• a list of the courses the student selected for
  next school year

4
What is class rank?

• Class rank is a measure of each students
  academic performance in high school.

5
Why do we have class rank?

• Class rank is used solely for the purposes of
  college admissions and scholarship eligibility.

6
What are the best predictors of college success?

• Research indicates two important factors
• Grades in college preparatory courses
  
• Degree of academic course rigor throughout high
  school

7
What new graduation requirements did Texas adopt
that affects class rank?

• These new requirements The 4 X 4
• 4 years of English
• 4 years of math
• 4 years of science
• 4 years of social studies
• Total for graduation 26 credits

8
What courses count for class rank?

• Any courses that meet the 26 credit graduation
  requirements for the Recognized or the
  Distinguished Achievement Graduation Plans

9
How many courses are used for class rank?

• Students will be ranked using a weighted grade
  point average for all courses that count toward
  the 26 credits required for graduation

10
Are any courses are excluded from class rank?

• Excluded courses are
• Evening school courses
• Correspondence courses
• Credit by exams
• Foreign summer study courses
• Pass/fail courses
• Courses exempted by ARD

11
What other courses are excluded from class rank?

• High school courses taken in middle school
• Repeated courses in high school
• No Credit (NC) courses due to attendance issues
• Last nine weeks of the second semester courses of
  the final year

12
Are all courses counted equally?

• Weight Factors
• AP 1.29
• Any content area
• Pre-AP 1.15
• Any content area
• Honors 1.15
• Core Foreign Language only
• Regular 1.00
• Content Modified .90

13
How is rank calculated?

• Semester grades for each rankable course
  multiplied by the appropriate weight factor to
  get the total rank points for each course
• Weighted grade points for each rankable course
  are added together to get the rank point total

14
How is rank calculated?cont.

• Rank Point Total for all rankable courses is
  divided by the number of rankable semester
  courses to arrive at the students grade point
  average
• This average may be carried out to five decimal
  places
• Decimals are not rounded up

15
How is a students rank position reported?

• Students are listed in rank order (1, 2, 3) by
  their cumulative rank point total
• Rank positions are reported as ___ out of ___
  ( 5 out of 700)
• A students class is determined by the year the
  student enters ninth grade

16
What if two or more students have exactly the
same rank point total?

• Ties are broken by using a secondary indicator
  based on the number of courses taken for which a
  weight of 1.15 and/or 1.29 was given
• The student with the most weighted rankable
  courses (1.15 and1.29 wt. factors) determines the
  higher rank position

17
When is Ranking Provided?

• Beginning May, 2007 preliminary unofficial rank
  to be printed on the end-of-year report card -
  tentative rank due to incompletes
• Two-Semester Rank Early indicator given in the
  fall after completion of the second semester to
  be used as a planning tool for students and
  parents
• Four-Semester Rank Second early indicator given
  in the fall after completion of the fourth
  semester to be used as a planning tool for
  students and parents

18
When is Ranking Provided? (cont.)

• Official Rank Class Rank given in the fall
  after the completion of the sixth and after the
  completion of the seventh semester to be used for
  college admission printed on the first progress
  report of the year
• Final Rank Class Rank given after completion of
  seven and a half semesters

19
What is the impact of class rank ?

• Class rank is only one indicator for college
  admissions.
• Other components examined by colleges include
• SAT/ACT scores
• Extra-curricular involvement both in and out
  of school
• Financial need
• Student essays
• Letters of recommendation

20
Does Class Rank Determine Honor Graduate
Designation?

• Rank is not used to determine honor graduate
  designation
• Overall Grade Point Average (GPA) for all courses
  taken in high school determines honor graduates
• Summa Cum Laude 100 GPA
• Magna Cum Laude 95 99 GPA
• Cum Laude 90 94 GPA

21

• QUESTIONS
• ???

22
FEEDBACK FORMS

• Please tear off the last page of your
  packetFeedback Form
• Complete this form and place it in one of the
  boxes as you exit the meeting tonight or hand it
  to any of the counselors

23
Web Site Updates

• Our web page will be kept up-to-date
• With your input we will continue to clarify class
  rank information
• New or updated information will be posted at
  www.neisd.net/guide/ranking.html

24
Contact Information

• Thank you for your time and attention. Feel free
  to contact your high school counselor for more
  information.
• Churchill 210-442-0800 ext. 228
• ISA 210-442-0404 ext. 359
• Lee 210-442-0300 ext. 262
• MacArthur 210-650-1100 ext. 235
• Madison 210-667-4400 ext. 238
• Reagan 210-482-2200 ext. 251
• Roosevelt 210-650-1200 ext. 234
• DATA 210-650-1200 ext. 256