Getting rid of valedictorians in NJ high schools is stupid (Opinion)

Recent media reports claim that Vineland School District is considering getting rid of class rankings. This means there will be no pecking order, no valedictorian, no salutatorian. And colleges in New Jersey have even stopped considering class rank in whether or not they should admit a student.

I remember being 30-somethingth in my class of 300 something in my high school graduating class. That was only because half of my high school graduating class was at an 8th grade reading level. This was a huge improvement over my rank at the swanky prep school I attended for my first two years of high school. There, I was ranked 30 something-th also.. only that was a class of 60 something. Everyone there was Ivy Bound. But we knew our class rank. We knew it in 9th grade and we knew it every year all the way through 12th. Because it meant something.

Illuminating class rank is a politically correct move designed to not hurt a students feelings. It is the educational equivalent of a “participation trophy, implying that no student is better than any other student. This is not at all true but at least kids won’t feel sad. That’s the society we live in now. And it’s a shame.

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