Newburyport High School has officially eliminated the class ranking system that many schools possess. Class ranks are a ranking system that identifies the top students with the highest GPA’s. Many schools along with Newburyport High School have been eliminated these ranks recently.

A big concern that students have expressed since the change is how the ending of the ranks will affect college admissions. Many colleges often look at a student’s class rank during the application period. According to the information on the college board website, many colleges are starting to overlook class ranks, seeing it as unfair if an excellent student has been squeezed out of the top 10 percent, and many students agree. Henrik Ernst, a senior from Triton, expressed his opinion on how the class rank system affects students.

“ I feel like many students get anxious when it comes to being in the top 10 percent.  I think it’s unfair, since it’s so competitive it makes students care more about the competition than actual education.” A student from Newburyport High School also shared her opinions on the matter.

“ I dislike the ranking system removal because the class ranks motivated me to be better than other people in school. I haven’t noticed a difference in effort yet, but who knows about the future.”, said Nicole Shoffner, a sophomore at Newburyport.

Whether Triton will follow in Newburyport’s footsteps has sparked in the triton students and staff minds. Will this change happen here and will it affect our school for the better or worse? Mr.Scott Brennan showed encouragement towards the idea of abolishing the ranking system.

“ Although I think competition is very good for our students, the competition for the class ranks give students a type of competition that isn’t good for the school”, said Brennan.

Alessandra Bastile, a senior here at Triton, thinks that the class ranks are also unneeded.

“I don’t think that we should be numbered because everyone has different skills and abilities, it’s not unfair to label people as numbers. We are already stressed enough about college.”

Newburyport High School has made this change because they see the class ranking system as unfair and unnecessary for their school. The class ranks aren’t crucial to the curriculum and learning of the students and adds unnecessary stress to the students.

A lot of students, have different opinions that have arisen. In the future we will see if any changes happen, but currently all we can do and wait and see how the change will affect Newburyport High school.