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Originally posted by NK402:
Saw something recently in a news article about a young man, who had lost his father and susequently was "chosen" by his classmates to be valedictorian. I thought it was a typo. Guess not

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Originally posted by marksman41:
That makes sense and, to me, seems a more fitting tribute.

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Originally posted by ShouldBFishin:

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Originally posted by rtquig:
What I am saying is that if a 3rd track Student has Algebra I, and gets an "A" in that class it is no different than the "A" earned by an AP or Honors student in Algebra I. Colleges just see the "A" and it doesn't matter to them what Algebra I you had. All they see on the transcripts is Algebra I, "A".
I am not comparing a vocational school to a regular high school, although I happen to be employed by a regular high and a vocation high school district.

While I tend to agree about the honors classes, the AP classes here are different. None of the honors classes at my daughter's high school were eligible for college credit. However, all of the the AP classes had a test and the end of the year and if she got a good score, she received college credit. The AP classes that my daughter took were rigorous; much more time involved to learn the level of detail (AP History, AP English, AP Calculus are a few that stand out in my mind).


Those college credits meant that she could skip a lot of the general classes in college - it also meant she could register for classes before her peers.

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Originally posted by 9mmepiphany:

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Originally posted by NK402:
Saw something recently in a news article about a young man, who had lost his father and susequently was "chosen" by his classmates to be valedictorian. I thought it was a typo. Guess not

That is actually the true (traditional) definition of valedictorian. The student "chosen" to give the Farewell speech.

Letting the classmates choose the valedictorian...the person they want to hear at the end of their high career...is a honor more reflective of that student's contribution to that class

Basing it on the highest GPA was adopted as an "easy out" when folks didn't want to spend the time, and worried about being 2nd guessed, about the choice.

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Originally posted by Batty67:
My daughter, a junior, has perfect grades and has taken a moderate amount of AP and honors classes, so her GPA is "only" like a 4.35. But her SATs were 1430 (97% percentile). There are a lot of folks out there who think SAT/ACT test results should be discounted, I'd say, not until HS classes "reset" and become competitive again.

My wife, who graduated from the same HS my son is about to graduate from, was top-10 in her class with a 3.8 GPA or so. These days, a 3.8 would put a kid in the middle of the class.

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Originally posted by Gustofer:
When you dumb down education and inflate grades, these things happen.

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Originally posted by rtquig:
I see what passes for AP and Honor courses and am not impressed.