In every high school graduation movie scene, the Valedictorian steps onto the stage to be recognized for the years of their life spent working to be the absolute best in their class. Their community comes together to celebrate all of their hard work and dedication to their education. This scene no longer takes place in Loudoun County Public High Schools.
In October of 2020, the Loudoun County School Board voted to remove the traditional class rank system. After concerns of heavy comparison between students, the decision was made to replace the system with the Latin Honor System. Instead of recognizing the exact ranking among students, LCPS only highlights the top five, ten, and twenty percent of students. This new system also brought along the removal of the Valedictorian and Salutatorian titles.
The decision to change the system was originally sparked by concerns of academic burnout and unnecessary pressure in school. Mr. Patrick Weaver, a guidance counselor at Woodgrove, saw firsthand the effects the traditional ranking system had on students. “I may see students that will only take a weighted class. They [students] might not take a class they’re interested in because it’s not weighted, because of the GPA [concerns],” Weaver explained.
High achieving students at Woodgrove generally believe that class rank promotes healthy competition, not a toxic one. Senior Danielle Burroughs feels that the individual ranking of students wasn’t a harmful practice, but instead a motivational one. “It [the class rank system] also adds competition,” Burroughs shared. “I know competition, some people don’t like, but I do think it is a good motivator, having competition,” Burroughs continued.
After both of her siblings were valedictorians of their classes at Woodgrove, Burroughs worked hard to earn the honor for herself. Now, she’s not being recognized with the official title. “I technically am the one [the valedictorian] now with my GPA, but I can’t get recognized for it,” Burroughs shared. Overall, Burroughs feels like LCPS is too focused on athletic awards instead of academic success. “You don’t take away someone who wins in a sport because then what’s the point of it…I feel like [in] LCPS we focus to much on sports at times… they don’t take away anything from that, but they will take away from the grading, even though it’s unfair,” Burroughs added. As a dancer, Burroughs understands the level of commitment that goes into a sport and feels the same recognition should be given to students. “People have put a lot of hard work into their grades, just like you do for sports, and they’ll recognize that but not academics, which I feel like is the whole point of school,” Burroughs continued.
While LCPS took away official academic titles, they did not take away GPA. Even without the official recognition, students can continue to figure out who is in the top of their class. “Students talk, they know. I think even this year, the students know who are the top and who are not, you know, they kind of have an idea, even if it’s not printed and official,” Weaver stated. Rather than removing the factor of academic comparison, the new policy has just made it harder for the inevitable to happen. “It’s not like they’re taking away our GPA. It’s there, they just won’t recognize it,” Burroughs explained.
A concern raised among many students is how the new system would affect applying to colleges. “Some students like to put in their rank [into their application], if they are ranked higher, so now that it’s a Latin system, it’s not as specific, which hurts some students,” Weaver shared. Mrs. Sarah Emerson, a librarian and National Honor Society advisor at Woodgrove, works with high achieving students regularly and feels like Woodgrove’s resources have allowed for the change to not negatively impact students. “Our counseling department really gives a lot of attention to seniors to know the schools to apply to, to know the scholarships to shoot for …I’ve heard no complaints,” Emerson shared.
Although students will no longer be officially recognized with the titles of Valedictorian and Salutatorian, Woodgrove is still making sure their hard work is being noticed. Instead of the traditional honoring of the Valedictorian, the new policy highlights the top five percent of students. “I feel like Woodgrove, at least, does a great job honoring students who achieve that amazing effort of being in the top 5% percent of their class,” Emerson expressed. Burroughs feels like Woodgrove has done an exceptional job at acknowledging despite the policy the county has set. “Teachers are still very nice about recognizing students and saying good job,” Burroughs shared.
Regardless of the changes in ranking policy, high achieving students at Woodgrove come together to celebrate their hard work. Emerson has noticed a connection between the students, “I sort of see a camaraderie among the top students that they acknowledge each other and respect each other.”