Students at Cherry Hill East called for reexamining and abolishing the class-ranking system during public comment section at the Feb. 13 board of education meeting.
The request followed a recent article published in their student newspaper Eastside, with the headline, “Honoring Excellence or Diluting Distinction.” It was co-written by Isabelle Berger, Matt Berkery, Gia Gupta, Karina Gupta, Sophia Liu and Matthew Rentezelas and published in January.
Berkery, a junior, outlined for the board some of the key issues he and his fellow writers found when investigating the subject. He noted that there are 25 students with a 7.0 GPA on track to hold the title of valedictorian. The student authors attribute this to “grade inflation, a flawed GPA system and a lack of course standardization.”
“The way the GPA system works, if those students were to maintain that 7.0 GPA, they would all be labeled valedictorian at the graduation ceremony,” Berkery explained. “With that in mind, there are a lot of students who have taken one class that isn’t qualifiable for that 7.0 GPA. So if you take an accelerated level class as opposed to an honors level class, that’s weighted as a 6.0. That immediately eliminates you from that running.”
Other factors the student writers cited were that some teachers may grade more harshly than others, or assign more work. Berkery was joined by other students at both East and West in calling for the reexamination of class rankings. Their full story is available for viewing at https://eastside-online.org/news/honoring-excellence-or-diluting-distinction.
The board heard one West student attest to the negative impact the ranking system has had on the students. During his remarks, acting Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton lauded the students for bringing the issue to the table and agreed to continue the discussion.
” … That’s real to our students,” Morton noted, acknowledging the students’ perspective. “I think it’s unfair to the children who are going through this and experiencing this to refute what they’re telling us. As we move forward, we will explore the conversation.
“We will figure out a pathway in terms of moving forward.”
In other news:
- Quadsia Niaz has been chosen to fill the ninth open board of ed seat, though there are some administrative processes that still need to take place before she is sworn in.
- Business Administrator Lynn Shugars gave a preliminary budget presentation at the meeting and suggested that another discussion take place between the time state aid numbers are released and the deadline for budget submission on March 20.
- The district-wide communication audit is continuing to help assess where communication can be improved internally and externally
- The district received a School Climate Change Grant for $31,875 that will allow for the expansion of climate education for K-12 students and “encourage student-based experiential learning opportunities and engagement in location-based climate change solutions.” The grant will allow the district to establish a pollinator garden at every school.
- The district also received the Advance Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate Course Expansion Grant for $75,000 to hire and train teachers for AP classes or IB classes, and to expand opportunities for equitable access to college-level AP/IB courses.
