Stonington — The Board of Education will consider a policy Thursday night that would essentially eliminate class ranking for students at the high school.

The policy would take effect with the Class of 2019, whose members will be freshmen at the high school this fall.

High school Principal Mark Friese said Tuesday that the proposed policy is one that he and guidance counselors have been discussing for years.

He said that the senior classes at the high school, especially the current one, typically have many students with strong grade point averages of 3.3 or higher.

Because of this, he said, some students with a strong GPA may find themselves ranked in the 40-50 percentile of their class, a number that some colleges may not deem worthy of consideration.

“I’ve heard of cases where a person doesn’t get looked at even though they have a strong GPA,” he said. “I don’t want to take that chance.”

Friese said high-performing high schools such as East Lyme, Greenwich and New Canaan have already eliminated class rank for similar reasons.

“We feel that ranking does not accurately represent the hard work and accomplishments of the student. It is our opinion that the GPA alone should represent the student,” he wrote in a letter to parents of current eighth-graders informing them of the change.

Friese added that the change would also take some the stress off students who are constantly worried about how they compare to their fellow students and frequently check their class rank.

Instead, he said, students should be focused on mastering the concepts being taught in their classes.

In his letter, Friese told parents the school board would be considering the issue at 7 p.m. Thursday in the high school commons.

“Since this policy, if passed, will be starting with your children, it is important for you to be aware of this potential change and have the opportunity to voice your opinion,” he wrote.

He pointed out in the letter that the change only eliminates class rank, and students will still know their GPA.

When students are juniors and seniors, he said, the high school will provide class rank information directly to colleges and scholarships that require it.

Students will be able to learn their class rank after the third quarter of their senior year when the school announces that year’s valedictorian, salutatorian, and the Stonington Scholars who finish among the top 10 percent of their class.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas