First Person Singular
Are we rewarding mediocrity?

By Lyndsay Neal
Richwood High School

Are schools penalizing hard working students by honoring and recognizing mediocrity? I believe so.

When it comes to school and grades, the focus of many students is less on learning and more on “Where do I stand in the class?”. Students are no longer focused on what they are learning in classes but what their class rank is, and critics say that this battle for rank is leading to unhealthy pressure and out-of-control cheating among students.

Being valedictorian is no longer the prestigious honor that it once was. I believe an alternate method should be initiated into school systems to recognize students who work hard to prepare themselves for college and life by taking the classes that challenge them.

In non-weighted grade systems, all As are considered equal. An A in an advanced course is the same as an A in art or gym. Administrators worry that such a system encourages students to take the easy way out and not take advanced or college-level courses, but this system allows students to take a variety of courses without worrying about a lowered GPA.

In the weighted system, on the other hand, an advanced-course A is worth more than an A in art or band. This system may discourage students from taking creative or career-focused courses because, while they can help make a student more well-rounded, they also lower his or her GPA, the all-important factor in determining class rank.

The valedictorian award is tradition, though. Some people seem to like the custom and think it’s a nice way to recognize a student’s achievement. It has also been a standard practice in the school system for quite some time.

But, thankfully, tradition is slowly falling away at many high schools around the country as honor ranks and other rewards are implemented instead.

Honor ranking, similar to the college system of cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude, is a good idea. Some schools in West Virginia have adopted this process.

I also recommend that the traditional concept of allowing the valedictorian to be the speaker at graduation be replaced with a process of choosing the graduation speaker through application. With this, students who are interested in speaking present their speech to a staff of selected teachers. The group selects finalists, and the students then vote for the person they wish to give the farewell speech at the ceremony.

A change is needed because students who are working hard to achieve the high goals they have set for themselves are going to slowly begin to feel that their hard work is useless.

As it stands, student focus isn’t on learning the criteria set forth in classes or even taking classes in preparation for life after school. Instead, students go through a tremendous amount of stress and will do anything - including cheating — to be at the top of the class.