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Park City School District to replace class rank with Latin honors beginning 2026–27
Summary
District staff proposed eliminating class rank on transcripts and adopting a Latin honor system that awards laude distinctions and recognizes concurrent-enrollment coursework; implementation was delayed one year to allow family and student outreach.
Liz Moskow, a school counselor at Park City High School, told the Park City School District Board of Education that the district plans to stop reporting class rank and instead adopt a Latin honor system that awards cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude distinctions based on an honors score that counts concurrent-enrollment and AP courses.
The change is intended to recognize students’ rigorous coursework more fairly and to reduce the emphasis on a single numeric class rank, Moskow said. She said many high schools no longer report rank and that college admissions officers “don’t see ranked” transcripts as often, citing conversations with admissions representatives.
Under the proposal, the district would compute an honors score from students’ GPA and additional honors points for AP and concurrent-enrollment courses in core areas; students taking higher-level college courses would receive credit in the new system. Moskow said running the district’s historical data against the proposed formula indicates the top-tier group would largely mirror today’s top students, while broadening recognition for other students.
District staff told the board the change would take effect in the 2026–27 school year. They delayed the transition from an earlier target to allow “front-loading” of information for families and students because course selection for next year is already under way and the district wants time to educate families about the effect on transcripts and college applications.
Superintendent (name not specified) and staff also said the district will provide an unweighted GPA on transcripts and update the school profile to show how honors points are awarded. Staff plans include communication with families, updates to the transcript and school profile, and counseling outreach so students understand how the change affects course selection and college reporting.
Board members did not take a final vote on the policy at the meeting; staff characterized the current presentation as the work session briefing and next steps include ongoing communication and stakeholder engagement.
Moskow said the district chose this path after reviewing models used by other districts and consulting college admission representatives. She described the switch as intended to promote a more inclusive academic environment and reduce pressure on students to select courses solely to alter a numeric rank.
