Academically competitive high school students encounter a widespread issue: the race for class rank.

Class rank and grade point average are revealed to students during high school, and it’s not okay. 

Beginning their freshman year, these competitive students find themselves pitted against one another in a four-year race to be the best; the methods they often employ to reach the top are not always ethical. 

They often take every AP virtual class to get an easy A, cheat off their peers to get ahead or work tirelessly to get the highest grade possible, not taking advantage of their last four years before setting off.
Students have lost the drive to learn for the sole purpose of learning.

That is why knowing your class rank and GPA should no longer be revealed until senior year for soon-to-be graduates filling out college applications or scholarships. 

This way, students aren’t competing against each other and can enjoy the high school process without the unnecessary stresses this knowledge brings. 

Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

When academically zealous students know their rank in school, they often do everything to keep or move it up. They lose sight of what school is really about, and they lose the desire to enjoy their years in high school, not having rank on the brain twenty-four-seven.

This restriction would also relieve pressure off current students from parental figures. 

Parents often burden their children with the stresses of maintaining their class status and getting high A’s in all their classes; this leads students to no longer take a class to learn the material, but because it will boost their GPA. 

Some students will also deny taking certain classes for fear it will drop their GPA. 

This should not be the mindset for students; it should be to learn, explore and challenge their minds.