What is a class ranking system? Should it be abolished?
A class ranking system is a system where students in a class are ranked based on their academic performance, usually after quarter exams or final exams. It is a controversial subject though because it doesn’t benefit everyone.
It would be best if an existing class rank can be abolished, it can commonly prompt toxic competitions among students in the sense that it can typically lead to unethical behaviors that deliberately brings another student’s rank down.
An article written by an Intern from the States Journal Register collected feedbacks from students about their views on a class rank, a large proportion of them perceived class rank as a negative tool to measure academic progress. Taylor Summers, a senior from Rochester High School in America provided what he knew on how people behaved given the existence of a class, he knows people “who purposely share incorrect study guide answers to lower others’ class rank. Students can become obsessed with earning perfect grades and outscoring their peers”
When hostiles competitions were fostered due to a class rank, they will most likely destroy the goal of education: to let students collaborate with one another to learn from one another, instead of seeking solutions to how to bring another person’s academic achievements down. It is beneficial when the class rank is abolished, for promoting a collaborative learning environment rather than forming a highly competitive surrounding with unethical behaviors like cheating and misleading peers. An article from Stoneman Douglas High School’s Eagle Eye News claims a connection between cheating and a class rank that it is likely for some students to cheat on tests and exams just to receive a higher grade to push their class rank up. Some hold the belief that class rank can usually motivate many students to study harder to perform better, because student would not want to appear academically weak in front of their peers.