<p>The principal of my school told the junior class a few weeks ago that next year, our class won't have a valedictorian or salutatorian. We're apparently swapping over to some sort of Latin honors system instead. There will be three ranks- cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude.</p>
<p>Does anyone else attend a school where this is used/know anything about how it works? She didn't really tell us anything about how it'll work, other than the fact that our ACT scores and school involvement factor into the ranks. I'm so curious.</p>
<p>A lot of colleges have this. Rather than competing against each other, the students get the honor based solely on their own work. It’s a good system.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m pretty glad my school’s adopting this. The girl who would’ve most likely ended up being valedictorian really isn’t smart- she’s just been taking classes that would pretty much guarantee her to have a 4.0. It’s really silly.</p>
<p>My school has this. It’s based solely on weighted GPA for us. This year I’m one of 15 summa cum laude graduates, and all of us will sit on the stage during graduation! Whoever wants to give a speech can, and the rest of us will help with the proceedings. It is nice that more people get recognition, but it will be a little cramped on stage! haha With this system, my school does not have a defined number for how many people sit on stage. For instance, two years ago only 3 people were summa cum laude graduates. Maybe your school’s system will be more selective incorporating other factors like test scores.</p>