<p>It is unfortunate that at some schools, the system doesn't encourage students to take the most rigorous route. I don't have any stats to back it up, but I would bet that those instances are in the minority. Val controversies tend to make the news. My guess is that at most schools the Val selection process is fair and accurate. At our son's school, the Val has the absolute top GPA weighted by honors and AP. There is no controversy, no complaining that he took the easy classes to boost his GPA, etc He is #1 and he earned it. He beat out the #2 by a mere .007 or so. He will end up graduating with over 14 AP classes and was the top student in most every class. I tend to agree with the study "Lives of Promises," in that most Vals will be successful, but not wildly outside the box type successful. Soozievt's kid is a nice exception. From what I've observed, most Vals/Sals exceed overall, not just in academics. It is more common to see the Vals/Sals as leaders of their school, accomplished muscians, athletes, etc. Succeed and excel is just a part of what they do, like brushing their teeth. I think a more interesting question would be to ask, "what makes a kid become a Val or Sal?" Is it nature or nurture?</p>