September 29, 2010

 Currently trending away from traditional Valedictorian/Salutatorian designation  Moving to collegiate Latin Honors system  Pervasive issue at the national level due to social conflicts and litigation  California, Washington, Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, Minnesota, Colorado, Nevada and increasingly Florida have or are transitioning

 The overwhelming response is to recognize and increase academic achievement among graduating seniors  Colleges recognize and use the Latin Honors system  Latin Honors designation is maintained on high school transcripts regardless of GPA calculations/re-calculations

June 2007  USA Today article from June 2007: n pursuit of top GPA’s, students might transfer to schools “perceived as easier” ◦ In pursuit of top GPA’s, students might transfer to schools “perceived as easier” ◦ or drop enriching electives in order to take higher weighted courses. ◦ The article identified many states replacing the valedictorian system with the Latin Honors system. March 26, 2009  Madeira City Schools, Ohio – March 26, 2009 report: based mainly in social context ◦ Tradition of choosing a valedictorian/salutatorian is based mainly in social context. The family and student maintain ‘bragging rights’ ◦ Honor recognizes academic achievement for very few ◦ Students opt-out of taking beneficial unweighted courses ◦ Competitiveness may harm friendships and discourage cooperation amongst members of the senior class ◦ Designation does not guarantee college acceptance– examples:  Duke University rejected 58% of valedictorian applicants  University of Pennsylvania rejected 62% of theirs.

 Higher Standards, New Incentives: Justice for Valedictorians, Maran Doggett (Principal, Bear Creek High School, Denver Colorado) NASSP Bulletin, April 1988 Found that historically, all a student needed to do, was essentially maintain straight A averages to receive the distinction since there were no standards in place as to the type of classes a student needed to take. Students would often avoid taking more challenging courses to avoid risking their GPA.  Class Rank, GPA, and Valedictorians: How High Schools Rank Students (2007): ◦ Florida, along with California and Texas are using Percent Plans for college admissions to state colleges and universities ◦ There is no standard procedure among districts to the weighting process ◦ Weighting usually is given to AP, IB, and Honors courses ◦ Due to these variations, the study found the system to be flawed and inaccurate

 In-depth article examining the debate to keep the Valedictorian/Salutatorian designation  Followed contentious social and academic competition  Recognition and dissension caused among friends, senior classmates, and community  Lawsuits often highlight the parental and socio- economic advantages or disadvantages of students that can tear apart the real world skills of collaboration and social/academic integrity

 Surveyed 67 school districts to see how they recognized their top academicians  Results varied

 History ◦ 30 years in the making ◦ Policy changes ◦ Current policy

 Concerns ◦ Volusia County ◦ Miami-Dade ◦ Palm Beach County

 There are advantages and disadvantages for both class ranking systems

 GPA – calculation and impact  Selection criteria and policies  Student recognition  Academies and enrichment courses  Legal issues  Interpersonal relationships

 Considered “different”  Post-secondary model  Student recognition  Academies and enrichment courses  Interpersonal relationships

 Real-world skills  Equity / Socio-economic factors  Best practice

 Are there any other items or considerations that need to be researched and/or discussed relative to this topic?

 Please refer to the References handout for a full list of sources.