Recent changes in Fort Bend ISD’s class ranking policy have sparked controversy as students find themselves ranked among students who don’t attend their same school, raising questions of fairness and equality. Community advocates have expressed concern about the effects of the policy shift on college admissions and scholarship opportunities for graduating students.
FBISD media response:
Recommended Videos
Currently, class rank for high school students is established based on the campus where a student is zoned.
According to the FBISD FAQ information, students in the classes of 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027 will be ranked with the school they are zoned to according to their home address. Students in the class of 2028 and beyond will be ranked at the campus they attend.
- See more Fort Bend ISD coverage
Students affected by the policy
One student affected by the ranking policy is Naomi Groguhe who spoke on the emotional toll of being told she was valedictorian to later find that she was ranked to another school. Fortunately, Groguhe was already admitted into the college that she wanted to attend next fall but it could affect other colleges she applied to and numerous scholarships awarded based students ranking.
Earning titles like valedictorian, salutatorian, or ranking in the top 10 percent of their class can open doors for students. They often get automatic admission to colleges and may be eligible for scholarships based on their academic achievements.
“It’s very sad and it’s very unfair because it didn’t just happen to me. It happened to three other schools as well,” Groguhe explained. “I had told my parents that I was valedictorian and it was a very happy moment and then to find out that I would be ranked with another school, it was very sad, tangible disappointment going from expecting to speak at graduation and then finding out that you’re not even graduating the school that you attend.”
Groguhe discussed students’ reactions to learning where they are ranked and how valedictorians of schools they attend were bumped down by students who are zoned to their same school but don’t attend.
“They really thought that it was very unfair because people work really hard in all of their classes and get to school early every single day, working hard, and they’re striving for the valedictorian spot,” Groguhe said. “Then that is kind of taken away by someone else who hasn’t even walked the grounds of their school.”
Throughout the FBISD, Groguhe said she wants people to come together at this time to bring awareness to what is happening and do their best to prevent it from happening in the future.
“We had an early college program and I’m a part of it, and the program can be stressful, but when you reach the end, there’s a sense of relief that comes to you because you made it through all four years of going through the program. To now have someone else have the valedictorian title, it kinda takes away from the fact that you worked so hard for something,” Groguhe said. “I think that the main thing is to bring awareness to other people so that we can get this policy changed so that other classes don’t have to go through the same thing.”
A word from the community
Stephanie Brown, a dedicated community advocate and activist, serves as the founder of Marshall Advocacy Focus Group, a coalition comprising community stakeholders, parents, alumni, and students within the Thurgood Marshall High School Feeder Pattern. Additionally, she holds the position of PTO President at Thurgood Marshall High School, demonstrating her commitment to empowering and advocating for educational equity and excellence within her community.
Brown said she’s in tears for the students who are affected by this, highlighting how some of these students have never stepped on the campuses where they have been named valedictorians.
Brown explained that the FBISD policy, which began in 2019, was implemented to prevent this type of event from happening and started under the previous superintendent. This policy will be in effect until 2028.
“A long time ago people used to transfer their kids into a school, maybe the last semester of their senior year or the beginning of their senior year, so they could get ranked at a lower performing school in order to get in the top 10% or graduate number one in their class,” Brown explained.
Brown said she spoke with Groguhe and it was just the thing her family needed at the time.
“The district needs to send a message to parents that all kids matter and perhaps the next time a parent decides to steal positions from deserving students, they will think twice. Please note when athletes are caught cheating like this, they are penalized. It is my hope that this is taken just as seriously,” Brown explained. “For me, as a stakeholder community advocate and a volunteer in the school to find out how this policy and the possible teaching that goes along with it has affected colleges, scholarship money, internships and college tuition plus the possibility of a full ride for he or she and so many other students. It’s devastating. It’s just not right.”
According to Brown, Dulles High School has more AP classes and dual credit courses than Marshall, as well as a math and science academy.
“There is no way a Marshall student can compete with that inequality. These are two separate races,” Brown said. “I realize that this is not the fault of the students pictured here and I take nothing away from their academic success, however, they should be ranked at the school their parents chose for them to attend for the last four years, not where they claim to be zoned. This loophole is going to definitely change the end results for students all over the district.”