In highly competitive Plano ISD, where the race for valedictorian has been decided by precious few hundredths — or thousandths — of a grade point, most students may not know exactly where they stand for much longer.

The district is considering dropping class rankings beyond Nos. 1 and 2.

State law requires the district to keep track of which graduating students make it into the top 10 percent. But under recommendations that trustees heard this week, only the valedictorian and salutatorian would know their exact positions.

Other students would know only their GPA, and whether they make the cut for the top 10 percent.

Instead, top-performing students could be recognized as graduating summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude.

A task force made up of campus counselors, principals and central office staffers recommended several changes to the district's class rank policy at a board work session Monday. The group surveyed parents, students and teachers, and also held focus groups on the topic.

"Because of our current ranking system, our students draw inaccurate conclusions about their academic performance and self-worth based on a class rank that does not truly depict their academic standing or ability," the task force report states.

Lisa Thibodeaux, executive director for secondary academics, told KXAS-TV (NBC5) that the district reached out to 60 colleges in and out of Texas.

"The colleges reported to us, overwhelmingly, that there is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage to a student applying who doesn't have a class rank attached to their application," Thibodeaux said.

The board is expected to vote May 2 on the policy change. It would go into effect for incoming freshmen in the fall.

Several affluent districts — including Carroll and Highland Park — stopped ranking the lowest 90 percent of students years ago because they said it hurt some when applying to colleges. Private schools have long had similar policies.

The changes at public schools follow concerns that students who aren't in the 10 percent may still outperform top students in other school districts. Frisco ISD studied eliminating class rank but decided against it last year, NBC5 reported.

Two Plano East Seniors told NBC5 that getting rid of class rank would have changed some of the decisions they made in high school.

"I know people at other districts who are ranked higher than I am, but have a lower GPA, which is kind of frustrating," Inayah Minniefield said.

Allyson King told the station that if she had not been ranked, she might have taken classes geared toward her career plans in the medical field rather than classes that helped her class rank.

"Because while GPA is still important, it's equally and more important to discover what you want to do in the future, as opposed to just trying to play the rank game," King said.

The task force's recommendations:

1. Identify (but do not rank) the top 10 percent of graduates, as required by law.

2. Identify and rank valedictorian and salutatorian.

3. Implement a Latin system for recognizing students who reach a standard of excellence, to include summa cum laude ("with highest honor"), magna cum laude ("with great honor") and cum laude ("with honor") graduates.

4. Begin the identification of the top 10 percent in the 11th and 12th grades, when students converge at their respective senior high school campus.

5. Report GPA to students at the end of each semester beginning in a student's ninth-grade year.

6. For the junior and senior class at each senior high school, at the end of each semester, publish the GPA reflecting the lowest position in the top 10 percent.