Should NC high schools stop using class rank? State ed leaders want that option.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- State Board asks lawmakers to let traditional public schools omit class rank on transcripts.
- Board cites classroom conflict and GPA-driven course choices that harm students.
- New state system can hide rank; DPI and board expect many districts to follow if lawmakers approve.
If North Carolina education leaders have their way, the fight among high-achieving high school students to be ranked at the top of their class could become a thing of the past.
The State Board of Education unanimously voted Thursday to ask state lawmakers to give traditional public high schools the same flexibility now awarded to charter schools to omit class rank on student transcripts. Board members said all public high schools should have the same option to decide whether to continue using class rank.
“There are superintendents around this state who very strongly feel like the class rank situation is causing conflict and disruption in their school,” said state board vice chair Alan Duncan. “By causing it to be mandated for the traditional public schools, they don’t have the same option that our charter schools have.”
It’s unclear if state lawmakers, who historically have given charter schools more freedom than traditional public schools, will grant the board’s request.
Class rank fight too competitive?
Concerns about the high level of competition in high schools has been an issue for years. Some families say the push for a high class rank leads students to take courses that will boost their grade-point-average instead of courses that they want.
In response, many school systems, including Wake County, have ended the use of valedictorians and salutatorians — titles that go to the seniors with the two highest grade-point averages. Those titles were replaced with the Latin honors system.
Now seniors with a weighted GPA of 3.75 to 3.99 earn cum laude honors. Seniors with a GPA of 4.0 to 4.249 earn magna cum laude honors. Seniors with a GPA of 4.25 and above get summa cum laude honors.
But Ian House, an adviser to the state board and student at Green Hope High School in Cary, said the competition still remains because of the use of class rank.
“Class rank is causing division inside the classroom,” House said. “It’s causing students to really lose the point of their education, why they’re in school. It’s just leading to an unproductive atmosphere among a lot of students.”
Charter schools exempted from class rank requirement
State law mandates school districts — but not charter schools — use the state’s standardized transcript system. State law also mandates that the standardized transcript list class rank.
State lawmakers passed a charter school law in July over the veto of Gov. Josh Stein. Among the law’s requirements is clarifying that charter schools do not have to list class rank on a student’s official transcript.
Charter schools are also exempt from many other requirements that traditional public schools must follow. This includes not being subject to the state’s school calendar law and not being required to have all their teachers be licensed.
If given the choice, state board vice chair Alan Duncan said he’d expect many school districts would join charter schools in not using class rank.
“There are our public schools and we’re treating them differently,” Duncan said. “Not we the board, but we the statutes, in a way that I don’t think is the most advantageous way that is available to all districts.”
Change to state high school transcript policy
On Thursday, the State Board of Education approved an updated high school transcript policy that says charter schools don’t have to list class rank if they use the standardized transcript.
The change comes as state Department of Public Instruction staff said the state’s new student information system makes it possible to disable the class rank function on transcripts.
In addition, DPI says the new system makes it easier for charter schools to participate in the NC College Connect program that provides direct college admission to high school students who have a high enough GPA.
“Now that our student information system has the capability of hiding class rank and still generating transcripts, our local school administrative units, which are our traditional public schools, should be given the same option to use or omit class rank just as our public charter schools have,” said state board member Jill Camnitz.
This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Should NC high schools stop using class rank? State ed leaders want that option.."
