District 214 eliminates class rank

Northwest Suburban High School District 214 on Thursday became the latest in a series of local school districts to eliminate class rank.

The board unanimously approved eliminating class rank and the quartile reporting system that has been in place at the district's six high schools for the past several years.

The current senior class will be ranked, but rankings will be eliminated in the fall.

Recognizing students through honors, high honors and highest honors will still take place, Schuler added.

District 214 discussed eliminating class rank several years ago as a way to reduce competition and allow students to take electives they may be interested in even if those classes would not boost their rank.

At the time, the district moved to a quartile ranking system, ranking students in the top 25 percent, top half of their class and so on.

However, that system inspired even more competition and did not eliminate the problem, district officials said.

“It really does penalize high performing students in high achieving districts,” said Superintendent Dave Schuler.

The district will be able to calculate class rank, if a college or scholarship application requires that information, officials said. In those cases, school counselors will provide it directly to admissions officers or scholarship programs without students finding out their standings.

Other districts that have eliminated class rank in recent years include Stevenson High School District 125, Indian Prairie Unit District 204, Maine Township High School District 207, Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 and Palatine-Schaumburg Township High School District 211.

District 214 is the second-largest high school district in the state, with more than 12,000 students at Hersey, Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Buffalo Grove, Wheeling and Elk Grove High schools and several alternative schools.