Please share your thoughts on proposed PISD Ranking system

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by gsoy

This can be game changer for top students who don't want to play the GPA game and switch to privates.

I agree. This is going to make PISD even more attractive to all families, their kids can benefit from academic rigor and challanging peers without having to to worry about competition or rank. Best of both worlds.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

I agree. This is going to make PISD even more attractive to all families, their kids can benefit from academic rigor and challanging peers without having to to worry about competition or rank. Best of both worlds.

Let's not get carried away into some fantasyland where students don't worry about competition and ranking. It's still going to be an all-out competition for Val, Sal, Top 10 grads, Top 10%. The benefit is that students whose grades currently rank between 11%-25/30% aren't punished by state schools for not making Plano's top 10%. It's not going to get a 50th percentile kid into UT but will help the kid who busts their butt and makes almost straight A's in Honors / AP.

[UnfairPark]

True as ultimately college admissions practices are the real reason for the competition, schools have little control over that. However, if school won't report rank to non auto-admit and elite colleges, they wont know if student is rank 20 or 46, that's a bonus right there. Real advantage is for students who dont care about val/sal but still want a decent rank for admissions, they won't have to avoid every low weighted course, they'll be able to take some interesting courses without worrying about dropping from rank 20 to 40. Their transcript would only say top 10%. Even for UT, non auto admit would help. Unless you want to walk the stage or give speech on graduation day, you'll be better off.

[stan4]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

I agree. This is going to make PISD even more attractive to all families, their kids can benefit from academic rigor and challanging peers without having to to worry about competition or rank. Best of both worlds.

You gotta have perfect grades to break into the top 20%.
You think it still won't be scratch and claw to get into the top 10%?

Nope. Still out.

[UnfairPark]

Its a step in right direction but individual districts can only do so much. College admission process is the driving force behind this competition.

I shouldn't be admitting it as a public school supporter but to be honest, attending competitive, affluent public school in Texas really kills student's chances for elite colleges. They are only good to get you into state schools and second or third tier private schools. Specially if you are an Asian, try elite prep schools, rural schools or at least poor inner city schools.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by jennifw

We should be nearing the end of the "old SAT." The new one has been in place for 2 years now.

As far as the ranking question, I think its a good thing. My daughter went to a school that didn't have weighted classes freshman year and she transferred to a school that does as a sophomore. Even with almost all straight A's, she can't break that top 10% because all of her freshman classes were considered "on-level." It would be great to have colleges look at her whole being and not just a number.

1). Agreed on the old v. new SAT. As I understand it TAMU Engineering will accept the old SAT in some cases through this application season.

2). A number of colleges recalculate high school GPAs to a standard.

3). I'm not big on national rules generally but it would add a layer of efficiency and even transparency if every high school calculated GPA the same way.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Waterdragon8212

The competitive privates have done this for some time. It may be primarily due to their reputations, but they don't seem to be lacking in UT admits (or other auto-admit schools)...Plano is such a massive district, I'm guessing it could help those kids that have a "lower" rank, but still have an absurdly high GPA - which seems to be the case for a number of kids I've known throughout the years.

As a side note, the inner Longhorn in me can't help but chuckle at "Aggie Math Test." I know EDS knows his stuff - especially when it comes to A&M - but that one really took me back to the good 'ole days full of Aggie jokes. Were I a wittier individual, I would have crafted one for this occasion...

Agreed, it is a funny moniker.

But the test is not a joke except for people who get math. My daughter's freshman roommate missed being salutatorian at her DFW area school by a couple of points - apparently she got 8 question correct.