My high school doesn’t recognize or commemorate the valedictorian of the graduating class. For example, the student body president gives the graduating speech, although being the valedictorian is a much more impressive accomplishment. Also, the election of the student body president is usually very biased and subjective, while valedictorian is objective and solely based on who has the higher GPA. Is this normal? Also, is there correlation between schools that don’t recognize valedictorians and schools with bad academics?
Many schools don’t have Vals, but those that do generally apply a very cut-and-dry process as to who gets named. The student body president at almost every HS is viewed as a popularity contest.
No. My own HS, which I think would be described as a “school with bad academics” by absolutely nobody, does not have Vals/sals and these kids do quite well in the admissions process.
The ones most impressed, in many cases, are the val and his/her parents
“My high school doesn’t recognize or commemorate the valedictorian of the graduating class.”
Good for your school. I support this idea.
One daughter graduated from a school that didn’t recognize a valedictorian. She was top in the class but no one talked about it. I thought that this was good for several reasons. Not making a big deal about grades lowered the stress level of the school. Not requiring her to speak at the graduation meant it was one thing that she didn’t have to worry about at a time in her life which is hectic for all students. It could have avoided any unproductive competition between two or more strong students. No one was made to feel bad about anyone else’s grades.
Universities saw her grades when she applied.
The academics as her high school were very good and she showed up at university very well prepared.
There is one school in my area that does not recognize valedictorian and it is small which makes it obviously not as competitive as it’s large surrounding schools but it doesn’t mean it’s a “bad” school.
I always think there is something very warped about a high school that gives out athletic & other awards (MVP etc.) but doesn’t recognize the top students in the graduating class. If the Valedictorian doesn’t want to give a speech at graduation they can simply decline. My son called the top group vying for first “the fighting five.” He was in the top 20% of his class but wasn’t interested in reaching for the very top. His choice. But don’t take the recognition away from those who are striving for #1 & #2.
For those who are top but their schools don’t recognize it ,obviously that student will have great grades and scores making them strong candidates. I also think this would be a place for a guidance counselor to make note in his/her recommendation that the student is #1 or #2 and explain that the school doesn’t rank (assuming they also don’t rank).
There’s almost always a teeny tiny little microscopic difference between the top 5 or 6 kids of any graduating class. Being the one who lands on the tippy top isn’t the major accomplishment that many seem to think it is.
And by the time many schools name a Valedictorian, acceptances have been out for ages.
“For example, the student body president gives the graduating speech, although being the valedictorian is a much more impressive accomplishment.”
According to whom ?
In the real world, I think that the opposite is true.
“There’s almost always a teeny tiny little microscopic difference between the top 5 or 6 kids of any graduating class.”
Same could be said with HS athletes running the 60 yard dash but we still give out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons or the test taker who got a 35 vs 36 on the ACT, both got an excellent score but one missed 1 or 2 questions more than the other. I have no problem recognizing the top HS student with Val title. It’s a great accomplishment. With that said, at D’s HS all 4.0 students are co-Val’s, regardless of course rigor.
There seem to be so many different ways of deciding who is the valedictorian I’m not really sure what value the title really has.
For example, you can arrive at a higher GPA by taking an easier course load in some schools.
Does that mean the valedictorian is the smartest kid in that school?
I don’t see any correlation between a school that awards the title to one student and the standard of that schools academics.
I like the schools that award the title to the kid who embodies the school spirit the most.
As an aside, Valedictoria, calculated on final GPA couldn’t really be decided until a time way after college acceptances had been received, surely?
Agreed that the Val and others in the top 5 or 10 differ little on academic achievement and the real concern is that highlighting the Val alone places too much emphasis on strategic course taking rather than genuine achievement differences.
The high school I attended not only didn’t name a valedictorian, they also didn’t rank at all (and still don’t). They regularly send multiple students to each of HYPS. The Class President position was partly about popularity, but it also involved work, including helping to arrange senior class trips and the Prom, so it definitely wasn’t purely a popularity contest - it went to the most popular person willing and able to do a good job.
They choose not to rank, and instead report “rank” by percentiles. Since they have a habit of accepting several students from each graduating class, the top colleges are fully aware of what a given GPA means, along with the rigor of the schedule. There is no “ranking” advantage to massaging your schedule. You take the classes you want or need, and do your best in them. The top students doesn’t forego that Art class senior year because it’s only academic level and would otherwise reduce the GPA.
Our local school honors “Varsity Scholars-” those with 3.9 average or above. The graduation speakers are chosen from among them. As for who is most impressed, I agree with Skieurope, it’s the students and the parents themselves. Last year the Sal’s parents arranged to have his picture with the Val’s on multiple local billboards (Sal’s mother is a friend, and the Principal at another local HS; she verified it was Val parent’s idea, and they paid for it - she’s saving her money to pay tuition).
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@skieurope There may be correlation but not in the way that the OP is thinking. It may be reversed.
I agree that student body president is no accomplishment whatsoever. We voted for it first week of freshman year, and I only knew 4 people in the whole school. It was a contest of popularity from middle school. Complete bias.
Is there any “hook” value to being senior class president? Any EC positiveness to it?
Val may be more impressive…but why does that mean they have to give a speech?
Also some HSs have found that students game the system to become Val…or deprive themselves of taking electives so their GPA doesn’t take a hit from a non honors/AP classes. I think students should take the opportunity to explore electives while they have the chance.
Our public HS doesn’t rank and doesn’t say who is val. The class president gives the graduation speech. The HS is academically competitive and very well respected (99% of students go on to 4 year colleges, many at top tier institutions). I don’t know of anyone (student or parent) who has a problem with this.
Our school doesn’t rank, have a valedictorian, or a student body president. I believe the boy who did speak probably would of been valedictorian (going to University of Chicago) but part of the choice IMO would of been something willing to speak.
No. The only EC that is a hook is a sport that results in the applicant being recruited.
Like any EC, its “positiveness” is what one makes of it. The simple listing of it as an EC doesn’t do a lot.
Unless I missed it, nobody has mentioned a key detail. For most schools that have vals, the selection is made after college decisions have been made. So I’m unsure who will be “impressed.”
It doesn’t. Like many things, the decisions about who speaks at graduation are made by the school/district.
But 60 yards is always 60 yards, so it can be fairly/objectively measured. Student A could take 6 APs in a calendar year and get straight As, while Student B could take 6 APs plus two additional non AP classes such as yearbook or CAD and get straight As. The student who took 8 classes would have a lower GPA than the student who only took 6. Who had a more challenging course load? This is why many schools do not rank or have a valedictorian.