Cobrat,
Well, as somebody pointed out very wisely, the general idea of DE classes and general opinion of them, does not exist. It depends on the HS, college, instructor, specifics of the class itself and other details in each case under scrutiny.
D’s HS did not label val’s / sal’s even back in days when they actually rank graduates. Believe me, no college cares about any labeling, they determine the applicant rank and it is plenty enough for them.