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conuly
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The comments are ALL over the board. Is this a sign of rampant grade inflation, or does it reduce pointless competition over a meaningless distinction? Does this keep us from teaching kids about The Real World, or does it keep the focus on learning instead of grades? If one of the people in the top ten got their high grades by focusing on music, does that mean their classes weren't as rigorous as the science major's, or does it mean that by not recognizing that guy you're punishing kids for branching out?
How Many Graduates Does It Take to Be No. 1?
By WINNIE HU
There will be no valedictory speech at Jericho High School’s graduation on Sunday. With seven seniors laying claim to the title by compiling A-plus averages, no one wanted to sit through a solid half-hour of inspirational quotations and sappy memories.
Instead, the seven will perform a 10-minute skit titled “2010: A Jericho Odyssey,” about their collective experience at this high-achieving Long Island high school, finishing up with 30 seconds each to say a few words to their classmates and families.
“When did we start saying that we should limit the honors so only one person gets the glory?” asked Joe Prisinzano, the Jericho principal.
In top suburban schools across the country, the valedictorian, a beloved tradition, is rapidly losing its singular meaning as administrators dispense the title to every straight-A student rather than try to choose the best among them.
Principals say that recognizing multiple valedictorians reduces pressure and competition among students, and is a more equitable way to honor achievement, particularly when No. 1 and No. 5 may be separated by only the smallest fraction of a grade from sophomore science. But some scholars and parents have criticized the swelling valedictorian ranks as yet another symptom of rampant grade inflation, with teachers reluctant to jeopardize the best and brightest’s chances of admission to top-tier colleges.
“It’s honor inflation,” said Chris Healy, an associate professor at Furman University, who said that celebrating so many students as the best could leave them ill prepared for competition in college and beyond. “I think it’s a bad idea if you’re No. 26 and you’re valedictorian. In the real world, you do get ranked.”
Not, though, at graduation from Stratford High School in the suburbs of Houston, which accorded its 30 valedictorians — about 6.5 percent of the class — gold honor cords. Nor at Cherry Hill High School East in southern New Jersey, which has revised its graduation tradition, picking a speaker among this year’s nine co-valedictorians by lottery and printing speeches from the others in the program.
In Colorado, eight high schools in the St. Vrain Valley district crowned 94 valedictorians, which the local newspaper, The Longmont Times-Call, complained in an editorial “stretches the definition.” And north of New York City, Harrison High School is phasing out the title, and on Friday declared 13 of its 221 graduates “summa cum laude.”
William R. Fitzsimmons, the dean of admissions at Harvard, said he had heard of schools with more than 100 valedictorians, and had seen home-schooled students praised as No. 1 — out of one — all of which has helped render the distinction meaningless.
“I think, honestly, it’s a bit of an anachronism,” he said. “This has been a long tradition, but in the world of college admissions, it makes no real difference.”
Even some principals who have named multiple valedictorians acknowledge that the honor no longer carries the same weight.
“If you’ve got one in a population of 500, it has special significance,” said John O’Breza, the principal of Cherry Hill East. “When you have 9, 10 or 30 in a population of 500, the numbers speak for themselves. The more rare it is, the more distinguished.”
Still, being tapped as valedictorian resonates deeply. “I feel like as long as you reach that point, it doesn’t matter how many you have,” said Yvette Leung, one of the Jericho seven, who is bound for Harvard. “To be named valedictorian is an honor and a testament to how hard we’ve tried.”
The word valedictorian — Latin for “farewell sayer”— appears as early as 1759 in the diary of the Rev. Edward Holyoke, then president of Harvard College. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “the student usually having the highest rank in a graduating class who delivers the valedictory address at the commencement exercises.”
School officials contend that there are more valedictorians than ever before because the frenzy over college admissions has made students more serious about grades and has spurred them to load up on advanced courses beginning in freshman year. In addition, some schools have adjusted their formulas to give more students a shot at the top spot by counting more courses toward the grade-point average, or limiting the weight given to any one particular subject.
Don Haddad, the superintendent of the valedictorian-laden St. Vrain Valley district, where all 94 honored seniors earned a cumulative G.P.A. of at least 4.0, said his schools had simply produced stronger students with more rigorous coursework in early grades. “We have not lowered the bar to achieve more valedictorians,” he said. “More kids now are getting over the bar.”
Santa Monica High School in California recognized all 23 students with a 4.0 G.P.A. this year as “valedictorian candidates” and displayed their pictures at the entrance to the cafeteria. But for graduation, the school winnowed that pool to two valedictorians and one salutatorian by giving extra points for advanced placement, honors and college courses. As the principal put it, “If we had 23 speeches along with everything else, we’d still be graduating right now.”
Jericho selects its valedictorians through a formula that does not distinguish between honors and nonhonors courses, with the result that any student who earns all A-pluses all four years automatically receives the honor. The most valedictorians previously was four, in 2008; last year, there was one. Henry L. Grishman, the Jericho superintendent, said there were no plans to move to a weighted formula that could break, say, a seven-way tie for valedictorian because “it levels the playing field to say a course is a course is a course” and encourages students to focus on learning rather than competing. The district does not rank students.
This year’s co-valedictorians — all friends since middle school — are an illustrious group. Ms. Leung just returned from meeting President Obama as a presidential scholar. Brandon Li, who is headed to Yale, invented a water filtration system for third world countries. Four of the seven placed in international research competitions.
Mr. Prisinzano, the principal — himself valedictorian of his upstate New York high school in 1994 — said Jericho’s co-valedictorians had spent more than 20 hours developing and rehearsing their graduation skit over the past two weeks. There is no star: everyone has about the same amount of speaking time.
Jeremy Feinstein, who plans to study engineering at Cornell, said he was surprised to learn that he was one of seven valedictorians. “I’ve never even heard of more than one or two,” he said. “Then I thought, ‘They worked as hard as I did and they deserve it as much as I do.’ They’re all great people.”
Anyway, he added, “I wouldn’t know what to do with 10 minutes on the podium.”
The comments are ALL over the board. Is this a sign of rampant grade inflation, or does it reduce pointless competition over a meaningless distinction? Does this keep us from teaching kids about The Real World, or does it keep the focus on learning instead of grades? If one of the people in the top ten got their high grades by focusing on music, does that mean their classes weren't as rigorous as the science major's, or does it mean that by not recognizing that guy you're punishing kids for branching out?
How Many Graduates Does It Take to Be No. 1?
By WINNIE HU
There will be no valedictory speech at Jericho High School’s graduation on Sunday. With seven seniors laying claim to the title by compiling A-plus averages, no one wanted to sit through a solid half-hour of inspirational quotations and sappy memories.
Instead, the seven will perform a 10-minute skit titled “2010: A Jericho Odyssey,” about their collective experience at this high-achieving Long Island high school, finishing up with 30 seconds each to say a few words to their classmates and families.
“When did we start saying that we should limit the honors so only one person gets the glory?” asked Joe Prisinzano, the Jericho principal.
In top suburban schools across the country, the valedictorian, a beloved tradition, is rapidly losing its singular meaning as administrators dispense the title to every straight-A student rather than try to choose the best among them.
Principals say that recognizing multiple valedictorians reduces pressure and competition among students, and is a more equitable way to honor achievement, particularly when No. 1 and No. 5 may be separated by only the smallest fraction of a grade from sophomore science. But some scholars and parents have criticized the swelling valedictorian ranks as yet another symptom of rampant grade inflation, with teachers reluctant to jeopardize the best and brightest’s chances of admission to top-tier colleges.
“It’s honor inflation,” said Chris Healy, an associate professor at Furman University, who said that celebrating so many students as the best could leave them ill prepared for competition in college and beyond. “I think it’s a bad idea if you’re No. 26 and you’re valedictorian. In the real world, you do get ranked.”
Not, though, at graduation from Stratford High School in the suburbs of Houston, which accorded its 30 valedictorians — about 6.5 percent of the class — gold honor cords. Nor at Cherry Hill High School East in southern New Jersey, which has revised its graduation tradition, picking a speaker among this year’s nine co-valedictorians by lottery and printing speeches from the others in the program.
In Colorado, eight high schools in the St. Vrain Valley district crowned 94 valedictorians, which the local newspaper, The Longmont Times-Call, complained in an editorial “stretches the definition.” And north of New York City, Harrison High School is phasing out the title, and on Friday declared 13 of its 221 graduates “summa cum laude.”
William R. Fitzsimmons, the dean of admissions at Harvard, said he had heard of schools with more than 100 valedictorians, and had seen home-schooled students praised as No. 1 — out of one — all of which has helped render the distinction meaningless.
“I think, honestly, it’s a bit of an anachronism,” he said. “This has been a long tradition, but in the world of college admissions, it makes no real difference.”
Even some principals who have named multiple valedictorians acknowledge that the honor no longer carries the same weight.
“If you’ve got one in a population of 500, it has special significance,” said John O’Breza, the principal of Cherry Hill East. “When you have 9, 10 or 30 in a population of 500, the numbers speak for themselves. The more rare it is, the more distinguished.”
Still, being tapped as valedictorian resonates deeply. “I feel like as long as you reach that point, it doesn’t matter how many you have,” said Yvette Leung, one of the Jericho seven, who is bound for Harvard. “To be named valedictorian is an honor and a testament to how hard we’ve tried.”
The word valedictorian — Latin for “farewell sayer”— appears as early as 1759 in the diary of the Rev. Edward Holyoke, then president of Harvard College. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “the student usually having the highest rank in a graduating class who delivers the valedictory address at the commencement exercises.”
School officials contend that there are more valedictorians than ever before because the frenzy over college admissions has made students more serious about grades and has spurred them to load up on advanced courses beginning in freshman year. In addition, some schools have adjusted their formulas to give more students a shot at the top spot by counting more courses toward the grade-point average, or limiting the weight given to any one particular subject.
Don Haddad, the superintendent of the valedictorian-laden St. Vrain Valley district, where all 94 honored seniors earned a cumulative G.P.A. of at least 4.0, said his schools had simply produced stronger students with more rigorous coursework in early grades. “We have not lowered the bar to achieve more valedictorians,” he said. “More kids now are getting over the bar.”
Santa Monica High School in California recognized all 23 students with a 4.0 G.P.A. this year as “valedictorian candidates” and displayed their pictures at the entrance to the cafeteria. But for graduation, the school winnowed that pool to two valedictorians and one salutatorian by giving extra points for advanced placement, honors and college courses. As the principal put it, “If we had 23 speeches along with everything else, we’d still be graduating right now.”
Jericho selects its valedictorians through a formula that does not distinguish between honors and nonhonors courses, with the result that any student who earns all A-pluses all four years automatically receives the honor. The most valedictorians previously was four, in 2008; last year, there was one. Henry L. Grishman, the Jericho superintendent, said there were no plans to move to a weighted formula that could break, say, a seven-way tie for valedictorian because “it levels the playing field to say a course is a course is a course” and encourages students to focus on learning rather than competing. The district does not rank students.
This year’s co-valedictorians — all friends since middle school — are an illustrious group. Ms. Leung just returned from meeting President Obama as a presidential scholar. Brandon Li, who is headed to Yale, invented a water filtration system for third world countries. Four of the seven placed in international research competitions.
Mr. Prisinzano, the principal — himself valedictorian of his upstate New York high school in 1994 — said Jericho’s co-valedictorians had spent more than 20 hours developing and rehearsing their graduation skit over the past two weeks. There is no star: everyone has about the same amount of speaking time.
Jeremy Feinstein, who plans to study engineering at Cornell, said he was surprised to learn that he was one of seven valedictorians. “I’ve never even heard of more than one or two,” he said. “Then I thought, ‘They worked as hard as I did and they deserve it as much as I do.’ They’re all great people.”
Anyway, he added, “I wouldn’t know what to do with 10 minutes on the podium.”
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no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 07:43 pm (UTC)We had so many because our school didn't give extra weight to AP classes. I actually really liked this system. If AP classes had been weighted I would have felt compelled to take more AP classes to increase my GPA, and I would have missed out on getting to take all the art and language classes that I did. So, at least in my case, I feel that it indeed allow me to emphasize learning what I cared about over grades. (I still took a lot of AP classes, but not the maximum possible.)
I do agree that this dilutes the meaning of being "valedictorian" but I thought it was a nice system that recognized the few of us with who worked hard for the top GPAs without being really cutthroat.
-Amanda
no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 06:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 07:44 pm (UTC)The difference between the valedictorian and the saludatorian in my school was one point on one final across four years.
Any student who did not choose to study Spanish in middle school could not be valedictorian in my high school. If you studied French, you were SOL. As I transferred school districts because of a family move between middle school and high school, I do not know if the middle school kids were warned of this when deciding on a foreign language in middle school. For that matter, if you weren't already on the honors track before you entered high school, no degree of hard work in high school would get you to valedictorian. Most of my high school classmates were out of the running before high school started. As was I, although I didn't know it at the time. I came in 16 in my class, although I could have done a bit better than that had I tried harder.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 06:34 am (UTC)That's sad. That's just... it's not fair. What's the point of a competition that's not fair?
no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 06:40 am (UTC)But since honors courses were weighted more heavily than standard courses and AP courses were weighted more heavily than that, if you wanted to be highly ranked you had to take honors and AP courses.
Would it have been fair for someone other than a student who got straight As and took all of the hardest classes the school had to offer to be valedictorian instead?
no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 07:59 pm (UTC)because most of the things I say tend to be pretty dumb or uninformed... I actually would be just as happy if this whole valedictorian/salutatorian thing were abolished. The system as it is is unfair, IMHO, especially to students who busted their asses on subjects that were challenging for them only to garner no more than, say, a 3.5. And then, as was mentioned, you have the students who coasted along with seemingly little effort and getting straight As, especially those who didn't take AP level coursework.I remember that my graduating class had several students who were valedictorians, mostly the Honors program students, but there was one gal who wasn't in the Honors program, and everyone was all "Who's that?!" Yet, if anyone was deserving of the distinction, I thought it was her because I knew her, and knew that she had worked hard during the high school years.
And quite frankly, all these speeches and performances and such that take place during the graduation ceremonies... I find them little more than a bunch of overblown poppycock that's more filler than substance. =P It's always the same thing every time I've attended one of those. In fact, when I went to my niece's graduation ceremony, I could swear that the same speech given by one of the valedictorians was exactly the same insipid speech that one of the ones during my own graduation gave. Just, a waste of time to me. But whatever. *shrug*
no subject
Date: 2010-06-27 08:01 pm (UTC)Some people think this is a wrong attitude to take. Apparently, rewarding effort is inherently socialistic and ebul, we should only ever reward results.
That said, in some schools the valedictorian is chosen through other methods - by the students, or on different merits than just GPA.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 06:49 am (UTC)So, some schools do have a degree of honors beyond being #1 or #2 or "valedictorian" or whatever.
On a side note, I absolutely did not even take into consideration what taking AB Calc rather than BC and honors physics rather than AP in my senior year would do to my ranking. I almost certainly could have been more highly ranked if I'd chosen to, but I really felt I needed a bit of a rest and wanted to make my classes be easier.
I also chose not to take both AP bio and AP chem like the valedictorian and salutatorian of my year did, since the only way to take both involved not having lunch for an entire year. I chose to not have lunch for one semester and decided that really sucked. (I'm still bitter - as I did have a "study hall" because my only free period was 4th period and you were only allowed "lunch" during a 5th 6th or 7th period - for no good reason since we were allowed to leave campus for lunch. And my study hall teacher said I was not allowed to eat in study hall. Still bitter. So bitter. I lived 3 houses from the damn school and I was hungry and stuck in study hall.)
no subject
Date: 2010-06-28 06:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 06:35 am (UTC)Indeed.