Mike Falick's Blog

Spring Branch Board Explores the Class Rank Issue

Last Fall, the Board authorized the creation of a task force to explore the issue of class rank in our high schools.  Over half of the high schools in the United States no longer report class rank, and many people, including me, believe that class rank is damaging to many if not most of our students.  I will present the data supporting this position below.

The Class Rank Task Force met six times this Spring, and at this time has turned the discussion back to the Board without a recommendation.  At the end of this post, I have downloaded the Task Force's Report and all of the documents the Task Force reviewed.

Tomorrow night (April 25), the Board will have the first reading of a revised policy that would eliminate class rank beyond the top 10%.  The draft policy that the Board will consider is available by clicking here. 

Three cutting-edge districts in Texas - Highland Park, Coppell, and Eanes - have dropped class rank beyond the top 10% and report increased college acceptance rates for their students.  (Click  here to read Highland Park's full report on why they eliminated class rank).  The main reason for doing so, and the reason most private schools and KIPP Academy's Houston High School have dropped class rank is that the strong academic competition and student success and college preparedness are not acurately reflected in the single data point of individual student class rank.

As with the other Texas Districts, private schools, and high schools nationally, I believe the academic strength of our Spring Branch high schools and the academic performance of our students present the clear case for doing away with class rank beyond the State-mandated top 10%.

Extremely Tight GPA Ranges: The data shows that students at all 5 Spring Branch high schools are very tightly bunched in grade point average (GPA).  As shown immediately below, an "A" student at Memorial and Stratford, and a solid "B" student at Spring Woods, Northbrook, and Westchester Academy, will find himself in the bottom half of the class.  Indeed, a "B" student at Memorial and Stratford will potentially find himself in the bottom quarter.  (Our Board discussed this issue for the first time at our meeting on April 19, 2011.  Click  here for the PowerPoint I used that night that includes detailed GPA data for each Spring Branch high school).

The table below shows the GPA at the 11th, 25th, 51st, and 75th percentiles in each high school:

There are a number of additional reasons why schools across the country have eliminated class rank.  I believe these reasons apply with equal force in Spring Branch:

1.      Students avoid the courses they are interested in to take courses that advance their  rank.  In 2009, Spring Branch lead the argument at the State Legislature to provide additional freedom for our students to take electives during high school.  This change has allowed students to take athletics and band, or multiple foreign languages, or theater and athletics, etc., all of which is in alignment with the Board's view of the importance of student choice.  However, these classes are not "weighted" for GPA purposes.  As a result, these classes, and all non-required (i.e., anything other than math, science, English, and social studies) are a “hit” to the student’s GPA and thus class rank.  The current system is therefore disincentive to students who want to take electives, contrary to the articulated position of the Board.

2.    Single data point.  A student's class rank, as a single data point, fails to reflect anything else about a student, including the student's activities, interests, non-academic successes in fine arts, athletics, etc.

3.    Class ranking may eliminate holistic application review of students by college admissions offices.  Most colleges report that they utilize a holistic approach to reviewing student applications if a class rank is not presented.  A holistic review always presents a more complete picture of a student's individual successes, academic and non-academic.

As stated recently by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), "A system of class rank should not carry with it an underlying assumption that academic success is a scarce commodity available only to a select few students." 

In addition, the College Board website states that while "class rank was once a major component in admissions decisions, according to a recent report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) over half of all high schools no longer report student rankings."  The College Board also states that "Most small, private and/or competitive high schools have done away with it because they feel it penalizes many excellent students who are squeezed out of the top 10 percent of the class and then overlooked by elite schools.

I couldn't agree with the NASSP and the College Board more.  And that is why I believe Spring Branch should follow the thoughtful lead of over half the high schools in the United States, and our sister districts in Texas, and adopt a policy limited to ranking only the top 10%.

Finally, for those who might worry that eliminating class rank will hurt students, I recommend reading this article that summarizes the admission factors are typically considered important by colleges according to The National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC).  The article reports that the NACAC found as follows:

Class rank. Class rank shows where you place numerically in your class, based on your GPA. Colleges that use this factor want to see how much competition you had to face to achieve your rank. However, fewer and fewer colleges are giving class rank much importance. In fact, fewer than half of high schools now track class rank.

This finding is supported by the chart below that shows the decreasing value college admissions offices place on class rank.

 

The draft policy that the Board will consider is available by clicking here. 

As the Board considers this policy, I have suggested the following questions should guide the decision:

• Does class rank damage the District's overarching goal for its students:

Students who start ninth grade in the district will graduate and earn a Bachelor’s degree within five years or an Associate’s degree or technical certification within three years.

• Does class rank accurately represent the level of achievement of SBISD students?
• Does class rank hurt students in the college application process?
• Do all students deserve to be positioned in the best way possible to maximize the opportunity for success?
• Should all students be best-positioned in a way that most accurately represents their secondary school successes in the college application process?
• Should all students have the best opportunity to go to college?
• Should all students be able to explore their areas of interest by taking electives? (athletics, fine arts, foreign languages, etc.)

Here are the Task Force documents:

Task Force Report

The materials reviewed by the Task Force are as follows:

• Literature Review
• GPA Decile Report
• Student Survey
• Phone Interviews with Universities
• Poll of Texas Districts, Poll of Comparison Schools and Poll of Private High Schools
  
• Studies from Highland Park and Round Rock
• SBISD High School Profiles
• SBISD College Enrollment Data
• Applications
• Current Class Rank Policy
• Task Force Agenda and Minutes
• Request for Approval of Charge for the Class Rank Task Force
  

 

TED Video of the Week: (TEDxTC) Peter Benson - Sparks: How Youth Thrive

This week's TED Video of the Week is from Peter Benson, the founder and CEO of the Search Institute.  It was delivered recently at the TEDxTC (Twin Cities) Conference.  The talk is described as follows:

Peter L. Benson, president and CEO of Minneapolis-based Search Institute, is one of the world's leading authorities on positive human development. Dr. Benson is the author or editor of more than a dozen books on child and adolescent development and social change, including, most recently, Sparks: How Parents Can Help Ignite the Hidden Strengths of Teenagers Dr. Benson's international reputation in human development emerged in the 1990s through his innovative, research-based framework of Developmental Assets, the most widely recognized approach to positive youth development in the United States and, increasingly, around the world. Before joining Search Institute in 1978, Dr. Benson was chair of the psychology department and chair of the program in human development and social relations at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana

Spring Branch Speaks - URGENT - Emails Needed to Combat Wed A.M. Vote

This is our most urgent Call to Action to date. Please read and respond quickly...

Tomorrow morning (Wednesday 4/20), Senator Seliger (R - Amarillo) will present a plan to the Senate Finance Committee. It is an alternative funding scheme for education addressing the next two years.

This amendment is TERRIBLE for SBISD.

To sum it up, in the first year, some districts lose no money, while SBISD loses $14.7 million (over 6% of their education funding). The real kicker is in the second year: many districts will lose LESS THAN 1%, while SBISD loses over $32 million (13%).

This Seliger amendment is not fair. SBISD should not have to shoulder significantly more of the shortfall in revenue than other districts.

Some lobbying organizations have already called on their members to support the Seliger amendment. We cannot allow their voices to be the only ones heard in the Senate offices before the vote tomorrow morning.

CALL TO ACTION:

Email the Senators listed below tonight or tomorrow morning and ask them to:

VOTE AGAINST Senator Seliger's disproportional education funding amendment.

SUPPORT Senator Shapiro's version of education funding, which more evenly distributes the budget cuts.

Sen. Dan Patrick    [email protected]

Sen. John Whitmire [email protected]

Sen. Joan Huffman [email protected]

Thank you for your quick response,

Spring Branch Speaks

Parent-organized community outreach with SBISD in mind.

 

(Forward this email to your family and friends - ask them to join, too: www.SpringBranchSpeaks.com)

 

Legislative Committee:
David Davenport	Pam Goodson
Darci Hubbard	Susan Kellner
Valerie Paul	Chris Vierra

The Power of Words

Spring Branch Speaks Issues Update on House Bill 1: Cuts Hit Home

Spring Branch Speaks has issued the following update on House Bill 1 (the House Appropriations Bill):

UPDATE - House Bill 1

Unfortunately, the Texas House of Representatives passed HB 1 on Sunday.  This version of the 2011-2013 State budget includes steep cuts for education.  As the process continues, members of the House and the Senate must now work together to negotiate a budget both can agree on.  Then, the Governor must sign on as well.

Texas already spends less on our students than 43 other states ¹.  Cuts in education will not only decrease the effectiveness of our schools, but surely hinder our students when compared nationally.  To make matters worse for SBISD, many of the current projections have Spring Branch ISD shouldering a greater than average share of the cuts, all while our district contributes more than average to the state's education fund through local tax that the state "recaptures" with Robin Hood and other complicated education funding rules.

The lawmakers know they are on thin ice with many of their constituents.  Representative Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, said "Some of the cuts, especially in public education, are going to be devastating...we're all going to be just overcome with the phone calls that we're going to get from people in our districts to encourage us to take a closer look." ² 

Cuts hit home.

The reality of what these state budget cuts will do to our neighborhood schools is becoming clear.  In a press release today, SBISD began to outline how the slashed education budget will impact our kids.  As stated in the release, "[t]hese cuts...will have a significant impact on the ability of SBISD to provide a quality education for our students."

SBISD will eliminate 350 positions (about 7 percent of employees).  Attrition only accounts for a small percentage of these employees, unfortunately.  And SBISD was clear - these cuts are not efficiencies but solely in reaction to the budget cuts.

The time to get passionate is NOW - We cannot allow our law makers to continue along this path of faulty education funding.  So let's give them what they expect: call your Representative and tell them that education funding included in the current version of HB 1 is unacceptable.  Tell them you expect the House to do right by their future taxpaying residents and preserve schools funding.

As the debate continues, and as the lawmakers appoint a Committee to negotiate a budget that the House and Senate can approve, we must continue to pressure our lawmakers to protect the future of Texas.  We will continue to update you and request specific action.

NOTE on HB 275 - using Rainy Day funds for this year's budget...

Thanks to your efforts before Spring Break, the House of Representatives has passed HB 275 utilizing some of the Rainy Day Fund to cover the short fall in this year's budget.  Thank you for all of your work contacting the Appropriations Committee regarding this bill.

¹ McNulty, Sheila. "Texans learn harsh realities of cutbacks." Financial Times. 10 Mar. 2011, U.S.A. ed.: 2. Print.

² "Final compromise likely will fall in the middle." The Houston Chronicle. 4 Apr., 2011. p. A 1,5. Print.

 

Thank you, Spring Branch Speaks Parent-organized community outreach with SBISD in mind. (Forward this email to your family and friends - ask them to join, too: www.SpringBranchSpeaks.com)   Legislative Committee:  David Davenport          Pam Goodson Darci Hubbard             Susan Kellner Valerie Paul                Chris Vierra

 

Spring Branch ISD Message from Dr. Klussmann Regarding District Decisions to Address State Funding Shortfall

Below is the email sent out by Dr. Klussmann regarding the cuts our Board approved last night to address the anticipated State funding cuts.  As I state in the email:

The reductions in State funding break the State’s promise made in 2006 and will present extraordinary challenges for Spring Branch to continue to provide the quality of education for our students that our community expects and deserves.

For many years, the SBISD Administration and Board have had a rigorous budgeting process that has been focused on making sure every dollar was wisely spent with the goal of improving student performance. The unfortunate result of the State's funding reduction is that SBISD does not have any way to reduce costs without a significant impact on the classroom. This is indeed a sad day for Spring Branch and for Texas, and it is my hope that the Legislature hears the pleas of our community and communities around the State that these severe cuts in funding, which will damage the future of Texas, should not be allowed to stand.

State funding shortfall results in district budget decisions

As a direct result of the anticipated significant drop in State funding for public education, the Spring Branch ISD Board of Trustees took action last night to adopt several measures that will reduce costs for the school district. These cuts, which are necessitated by the budget decisions being made in Austin, will have a significant impact on the ability of SBISD to provide a quality education for our students over time.

The measures approved by the SBISD Board are expected to reduce expenses for the 2011-12 school year by more than $17.5 million (roughly 7% of the district's general revenue budget) and will result in the elimination of approximately 350 positions (about 7% of employees) within SBISD. Roughly 70% of the eliminated positions are in non-teaching roles; about 30% of the eliminated positions are teachers. The District would not be making these reductions in the absence of the extreme funding reductions from the State.

Over the last three months, SBISD has worked aggressively to identify opportunities for these personnel reductions to be handled through attrition. However, the magnitude of the proposed State budget cuts has forced us to take far more difficult steps. SBISD plans to move as quickly as possible to inform impacted individuals and will continue to provide information and additional details.

"This is not what SBISD wants to be doing, but given the significant reduction in proposed funding in the State, the district needs to act in preparation for the 2011-12 school year. State law requires us to notify employees of contract action by April 15, 2011, far before the end of the Legislative Session," said Superintendent of Schools Duncan F. Klussmann.

Since 2003, SBISD has eliminated or reduced 195 non-teaching positions and reduced Departmental budgets by approximately $5 million. During the same period, we have added 108 teaching and counseling positions. Since 2008, we have used an estimated $14.7 million from our Fund Balance to maintain the SBISD educational program.

The State Legislature

SBISD continues to work to encourage the State to find a long-term solution that will allow for the proper funding of public education. The current State revenue shortfall is driven largely by the flawed changes made to public education funding in 2006, as well as the economic downturn.

In 2006, all state property taxpayers were told by the Texas Legislature that their property taxes would be lowered and that the funding loss to our schools would be made up through other taxes and revenue sources, including a new business or "margins" tax. The promise to make up for that funding loss has not been kept. The margins tax has produced significantly less revenue than expected and this has created a structural, or continuing, deficit for schools that must be addressed by the Texas Legislature. And now, despite the fact that our taxpayers will continue to pay the same amount in property taxes, the State is providing far less in per student funding to a system that already ranked 44th in the country in public education expenditures.

Much talk in Austin has focused on the lack of efficiency in school districts and it has been implied that these proposed reductions in funding can be accomplished solely through more efficient operations. In Spring Branch, we strive for efficiency with our 4.5 out of 5 point rating in the Texas Comptroller’s statewide efficiency study of school districts, known as FAST, or Financial Allocation Study for Texas. Based on what is being discussed in Austin, we are not being given any credit for our efficiency.

Extraordinary Challenges for Spring Branch

SBISD Board of Trustees President Mike Falick states, "The reductions in State funding break the State’s promise made in 2006 and will present extraordinary challenges for Spring Branch to continue to provide the quality of education for our students that our community expects and deserves.

“For many years, the SBISD Administration and Board have had a rigorous budgeting process that has been focused on making sure every dollar was wisely spent with the goal of improving student performance. The unfortunate result of the State's funding reduction is that SBISD does not have any way to reduce costs without a significant impact on the classroom. This is indeed a sad day for Spring Branch and for Texas, and it is my hope that the Legislature hears the pleas of our community and communities around the State that these severe cuts in funding, which will damage the future of Texas, should not be allowed to stand," the Board President also added.

SBISD Board of Trustees President Mike Falick states, "The reductions in State funding break the State’s promise made in 2006 and will present extraordinary challenges for Spring Branch to continue to provide the quality of education for our students that our community expects and deserves.

“For many years, the SBISD Administration and Board have had a rigorous budgeting process that has been focused on making sure every dollar was wisely spent with the goal of improving student performance. The unfortunate result of the State's funding reduction is that SBISD does not have any way to reduce costs without a significant impact on the classroom. This is indeed a sad day for Spring Branch and for Texas, and it is my hope that the Legislature hears the pleas of our community and communities around the State that these severe cuts in funding, which will damage the future of Texas, should not be allowed to stand," the Board President also added.