According to a recent report, “The intense competition among students that comes with ranking graduating seniors has school districts across the country abandoning the tradition.” Half of all high schools no longer use class rank.

• The counselors interviewed believe that dropping class rank “gets rid of the stress of unhealthy competition,” and “could help more students land a spot in an elite college.” The counselors argue that colleges might overlook a student ranked 15 or 20 when only one-hundredth of a percent may separate that student from the top-ranking one.
• “"It's going to depend on the school and the community, but many feel like their students have a better chance of being admitted to a college without class rank," said Mel Riddile, an associate director at the National Association of Secondary School principals. “
• Melissa Clinedinst, assistant director of research with the National Association for College Admission Counseling, said class rank had become less of a deciding factor when evaluating student applicants. In the early 1990s, about 40 percent of colleges deemed class rank to be considerably important in admission. Now that number is less than 20 percent, she said.