<p>Jamimom, Your typo is the perfect screen name. Optimom!</p>
<p>Thanks, SBmom. Lots of Optimoms and Optidads on this forum. You know, with all of this val/sal talk and unfairness, I really can see why schools are getting rid of the designation. It’s odd, as in my day, we had no idea who was number 1, 2, 3, etc until the absolute last minute and no one really thought to ask for the formula. There was a brougha my year since two non academic girls got the top honors, and I guess that was the start of all of this furor about class rank. Since my kids, even my girls who were excellent students, were never in the running for val/sal, it was not an issue that entered my mind either for the kids. I guess now I am thinking that my D is in the running for #1 at her college as she does not have any B’s at all, all A’s. I wonder if colleges do any kind of recognition? It never occurred to me to ask about that as she was thinking of graduating this year, and then she did not get into med school as she had hoped. Just musing out loud.</p>
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<p>I think this is it exactly. From what I understand, the kids who leave school early for a job or whatever have this same advantage but on the whole, they aren’t the ones with a bunch of APs and near the very top in ranking. </p>
<p>I certainly didn’t mean to bash LDS or any other group: as coureur mentioned, if the school wants to grant permission for students to drop a class during the day to do whatever activity, that is up to them. I just don’t think that should give them (them meaning ANY of them) an advantage when it comes to gpa/ranking.
But it appears that this is going on in one form or another all over the place. FWIW, I don’t believe they get any HS credit for the seminary; they are just excused from first period (or last…I’m not sure what time they go).
I appreciate all the stories (misery loves company? 
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<p>Anyway, I talked with S’s counselor at the HS last night (parent night in prep for next year’s classes) about the whole thing. I think we may have a way to join em’ – as opposed to beat em’…
S will take 3 APs, 3 regular classes and then a class or 2 at state U. The college classes will not be factored in to his gpa. He’ll be dual enrolled (college/HS), but he will have a more heavily weighted AP schedule. I think in the end this will be an advantage because he will have actual college classes under his belt. When we lived in WA state it was no biggie: kids did it all the time at community colleges who were HS jrs/srs. While it is available here in Idaho (or our district, at least), we will have to pay for his credits taken at the U. I believe it is greatly reduced, but in WA it’s free to the kids. But my rant about Idaho’s $$$ spent on education (or more precisely NOT spent) is for another thread…</p>
<p>BTW, SBmom (or whoever said this) they do already have a letter from the district explaining weighted grades effecting class rank, yada, yada… and the GC gave me a copy last night.</p>
<p>This sounds like a job for Blair Hornstine. Maybe she can assist the OP in suing the school. I wonder if Blair has plagiarized in college yet? (Assuming that some place accepted her)</p>
<p>Oh for gosh sakes. The OP never said anything about suing the school. Why the animosity? Her question was couched civilly, and it’s a fair question.</p>
<p>No sense of humor.</p>