what if my HS does not rank students??

shogun
Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:18:33 +0000

It’s interesting to note that West Point is obviously “very competitive with many high achievers”, it “does not add weight to the grades of higher level coursework”, so potentially, others who take regular levels of courses could outrank cadets who took higher levels of that course, yet West Point still ranks each member of each class. The very conditions which guidance counselors at non-ranking High Schools use as their reasons not to rank exist at West Point, yet West Point ranks its cadets.

One reason it appears to work at West Point where it might not at a “non-ranking” “competitive high school” relates to the comment above where:

“Since the school does not add weight to the grades of higher level coursework, several who took the regular levels of courses would have outranked our cadet”

is that West Point appears to put more pressure on students who can do the more advanced work to step up into the harder level class. I don’t think they allow too many cadets to “lay in the weeds” so they can ace courses that are obviously no challenge to them (even though an A in a “medium level math course” that meets 5 hours a week weighs as much as an A in a 5 hour a week “advanced level” math course.)

In any case, class rank at USMA (as it is at the other academy’s I assume) bears no small significance to posting and branching opportunities—it is just one of those little “life’s lessons” that USMA teaches along the way—in their professional life (both in and out of the Army) they will always be ranked, whether it appears fair or not.