Liu-Elhamdani 1 Genna Liu Rawan Elhamdani Debate I Ms. Sobotka 29 October 2013 Introduction I. II.

Genna Liu, speaking for the continuance of class rankings. Class rankings help motivate students to select more challenging classes and to aim for higher grades. They also provide colleges and universities with more information about the school in which the student attended and how the student compares with his or her peers. III. Definitions A. Class ranking - A mathematical summary of a students academic record compared to those of other students in the class (College Board). B. GPA grade point average, a mathematical calculation that indicates where an average of the grades fall on a scale. C. AP advanced placement, college-level classes available for high school students. Body I. Thesis Class rankings motivate students to achieve greater and provide admissions with more information, and therefore should continue to be used. II. Support

Liu-Elhamdani 2 A. School environment 1. AP and honor classes are weighed as 5.0 while regular classes are weighed as 4.0. A higher class ranking would motivate students to select the harder class. 2. The grade the student receives in a class determines his or her GPA in that class, so a higher grade means a higher GPA, which turns to a higher class ranking. 3. Healthy competition; counselors can withhold rankings if necessary. B. Comparison to peers 1. Class rankings allow students to see how they compare with their classmates and weigh their performances. C. Admissions 1. Many large state universities still require applicants to report GPA. 2. Studies show rankings are better indicators than SAT D. Process 1. Unwise decisions a. University of Oregon makes decision without ranking. 2. Admissions have to give more weight to standardized testing instead. 3. An isolated GPA gives administrators no indication about the environment the student was in. a. "If a kid has a B-plus record, what does that mean?" said Jim Miller, the dean of admissions at Brown University. "If a school doesn't give any A's, it could be a very good record. You've got to position the kids in some relative environment."

Liu-Elhamdani 3 4. Longer process both reviewing and applying, because the admission officials have to compose scattergrams that compare all the incoming freshmen of the school. 5. A bad ranking can still be canceled by other criterions a. A student with low rankings (due to taking un-weighed classes) can still be admitted. A good student will shine no matter what. b. John Kocsis took un-weighed Chinese, Latin and journalism, and with outstanding SAT scores, recommendations and essays, he was still admitted into Harvard. 6. Rewards hard-working students a. University of Texas at Austin automatically admits the top 8 percent ranked students. 7. Many high-ranked schools such as Vanderbilt, Swarthmore and Brown still favors class rankings. Conclusion I. Class ranking helps students from high school to college. In high school, it gives students a summary of their performance and of their peers. In college, it gives admission officials an idea of what a potential new student is like and capable of. Negative Cross A. Wouldnt class rankings force students to study easier classes and classes they might not want to take? a. Weighed GPA

Liu-Elhamdani 4 b. Out of comfort zone c. Other aspects to admission B. Wouldnt class ranking increase unwanted competition among students? a. Motivation to do better b. Can be withheld if necessary Affrimative Cross A. Isnt the point value scale different for regular and honor/AP classes? B. Shouldnt students who take challenging classes be rewarded? C. Dont college admissions still consider other sources like standardized testing and extracurricular activities when selecting applicants? First Affirmative Rebuttal A. Class rankings should be continued, but withheld if necessary to decrease unhealthy competition. B. They encourage students to take on harder classes and study for higher grades. C. Students should be rewarded for hard work. Second Affirmative Rebuttal A. Students that belong to a school will get admitted somehow. It would not deter taking classes that interest them because their other aspects will persuade the admission officials to admit them. Rankings reward hard-working students by giving them a more favorable status for admissions. The lack of class rankings will turn the admissions focus more toward standardized testing, which is a onetime test, instead of the long term accumulation of GPA and rankings.

Liu-Elhamdani 5 Works Cited

(n.d.) Class Ranking and College Admission http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/applications/rank

(2009, Sept 16) The University of Texas at Austin to Automatically Admit Top 8 Percent of High School Graduates for 2011. Retrieved from http://www.utexas.edu/news/2009/09/16/top8_percent/

Finder, A., (2006, March 5) Schools Avoid Class Ranking, Vexing Colleges. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/05/education/05rank.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Grove, A., (n.d.) What is a Weighted GPA? Retrieved from http://collegeapps.about.com/od/theartofgettingaccepted/f/weighted-gpa.htm

Von Dobeneck, M., (2011, May 30) Schools Weigh the Importance of Class Rankings. Retrieved from http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/05/schools_weigh_importance_of_cl.html