In June, members of the Seneca Valley School Board unanimously approved a policy change that will remove the reporting of class rank. 

 

Beginning in 2017-18, class rank for freshmen through seniors will be kept internally but will no longer be disclosed to students or the public.

 

Seneca Valley will establish a valedictorian and salutatorian after the third nine week grading period for graduation ceremony purposes, and honor rolls based on QPA will also still be calculated. Otherwise, students will not be able to request a class rank from the counseling office.

 

While the change may seem quite different than what has been the norm, moving to a system without class rank is something many schools in the area have already moved to, including Fox Chapel Area, Hampton Township, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny and Upper St. Clair, just to name a few.

 

“We want students to focus on learning and the academic challenges that are taking place within the courses they take,” said Dr. Matt McKinley, assistant superintendent for 7-12 Instruction. “Removing class rank we believe will help take some of the pressure off of those students who tend to become more focused on the rankings.”

 

Also beginning with the Class of 2018, the valedictorian and salutatorian will need to be enrolled in the Seneca Valley School District for a minimum of three out of the four high school years. Additionally, a chosen career cluster will no longer be printed on transcripts.

 

According to Dr. McKinley, students will still be expected to choose a career cluster during course registration as it helps establish a focal point in their interest of study. However, by eliminating the printed transcript career declaration, Dr. McKinley believes students will be encouraged to “try a more varied number of subjects so they can determine which direction they would like to go.”