Should Schools Have Valedictorians?

May 11, 2026

Many high schools are doing away with the tradition of naming a single student as valedictorian of the graduating class. According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals, about half of American high schools no longer rank students at all, which means they don’t designate a single senior for top honors.

Some say this is a positive shift that encourages students to collaborate more instead of competing against each other for the highest grade point average. Others argue that naming a valedictorian is an important tradition that rewards academic achievement.

So should schools have valedictorians? Two education professors face off on the question.

Publicly recognizing the top student as valedictorian is one of the few ways that schools reward exceptional scholarship and academic accomplishment.

There’s widespread agreement that high schools should choose the team quarterback or the lead in the school musical through demonstrated skill in open competition. These roles reward talent. So why shy away from honoring students who succeed in academics? They also deserve recognition for their hard work, focus, and talent. Induction into the Honor Society and inclusion on the dean’s list typically fall below athletics and social popularity on the student prestige scale. But valedictorian is the one academic honor that does matter to students.

There’s no evidence that competing for this title is a significant source of pressure for academically talented students. Rather, it’s competing for admission to selective colleges that drives them to get top grades. Unless we abolish grades altogether and colleges accept students by lottery, a student’s academic record will continue to be the most important factor in college admission decisions. So instead of doing away with the only consequential high school academic award, we should, as many schools have done, increase the number of scholastic honors.

Why shy away from honoring students who succeed in academics?

The achievement that the title of valedictorian represents is real and follows a person through life. My 15-year study of what becomes of valedictorians after high school showed that they graduate at the top of their college classes and go on to have successful personal and professional lives.

As a nation, we have a vital stake in developing the talents of our young people. That’s why we should keep recognizing educational achievement by continuing the valedictorian award and establishing other meaningful academic honors.

—KAREN D. ARNOLD
Professor of Higher Education, retired, Boston College

Outstanding academic achievement deserves recognition. But choosing a valedictorian based solely on cumulative G.P.A. often does more harm than good.

Chasing the top rank turns classmates into competitors, creating tense rivalries that damage friendships and discourage collaboration. And students often try to game the system to gain advantage, avoiding classes in art or music because even an A in an unweighted class can lower their overall G.P.A.

Most colleges moved away from competitive ranking long ago and now recognize all high-achieving students. They’ve adopted the criterion-based Latin honor system for graduates: cum laude (with honor), magna cum laude (with great honor), and summa cum laude (with highest honor). High schools that use a similar system often see both academic performance and school morale improve. Rather than competing against their classmates, students strive to meet high standards of academic excellence. Collaboration is enhanced because helping others doesn’t hurt your chance of success.

Chasing the top rank turns classmates into competitors.

High schools could also follow a model many colleges use of selecting the commencement speaker or valedictorian on the basis of more than just grades. They might consider community service, leadership, and extracurricular activities in addition to academic achievement. The goal would be to choose the student who reflects the school’s broader values, not the one who has mastered the G.P.A. race.

The term valedictorian comes from the Latin vale dicere, meaning “to say farewell,” and it originally referred to the student chosen to deliver the graduation address. By returning to the true meaning of valedictorian, high schools can affirm that qualities such as service, integrity, courage, and perseverance matter deeply. This approach honors academic achievement while fostering cooperation and reinforcing schools’ core values.

—THOMAS GUSKEY
Professor Emeritus, University of Kentucky

By the Numbers

1772

YEAR the first valedictorian was named, at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.

^{Source: The Conversation}

5.5%

PERCENTAGE of colleges that deem high school class rank of “considerable importance” in admissions; 72 percent say it’s of limited or no importance.