New Class Rank Policy for Montville High Approved

Montville Township High School students will no longer know their class rank and it won't appear on their student records and transcripts under a new policy approved by the Board of Education Tuesday night.

The school board voted to change how the school shares class rank after a task force explored the issue this year and found class rank can be a distraction, discourage students from taking non-weighted classes they're passionate about, be defeating for those ranked at the bottom, and not necessarily an accurate reflection of how well students are doing.

It also could mean some students whose college applications would be dismissed based on class ranking will be given a closer look, officials said.

The district still will rank students by GPA when reporting class rank is required for students to apply for certain colleges or scholarships, and the district will continue its tradition of naming the class valedictorian and salutatorian, Superintendent Dr. Paul Fried has said.

While the previous policy included a line saying the board acknowledges the usefulness of informing students "of their relative academic placement among their peers," the new policy strikes that.