Class Ranks have been recently featured in the semester 1 report cards, but are class ranks really necessary? Do they affect how students see themselves? What do parents think of it?

Class ranks are something new for California High School, and since they recently debuted, there’s been a lot of conversations about them. Some people like them, some people don’t, but they’re here to stay. I interviewed Melanie Lopez, a student with an impressive transcript, and extracurriculars. She and I discussed how class ranks made her feel, how her parents feel, and how important she thinks they are. I also interviewed a faculty member that asked me to remain anonymous. I asked them both the same questions in hopes to obtain two different perspectives of class ranks. 

I asked both of them if they thought class ranking affected the self-esteem and confidence of students. She stated that it wasn’t a big deal, “we don’t really tend to care or take notice as to who is in what class rank, so I think that because of the fact that it’s not something that we as a school focus on really, it doesn’t affect us.” The teacher, in contrast, says “To a degree, Yes”

The second question I asked was if they thought that parents cared about class ranks, Melanie says “No, I don’t think so, I don’t even think they know what it is” while the teacher says “Sometimes, Yes.”

Both answers were contradictory, which shows us how both perspectives are different. In the perspective of Melanie, class ranks are irrelevant and have no value. While the teacher, that has children and is surrounded by other parents, gives a different answer that makes us understand that class ranks might be more important to parents than it is to kids. Lastly, I asked them if they thought that class ranks were necessary, but this time both answers were similar. The teacher says “Necessary?… No” and Melanie says “I don’t think they’re necessary at all, because we don’t really pay attention to in any way” they think that it’s not important or necessary.

Based on the responses given by a student and a teacher, we can conclude that students, in general, don’t care about class ranks, while parents are more concerned about it.