Valedictorian is a concept that has been around in American high school for decades. It honors the “best” student in a class, letting them give a speech to the student body at graduation.
But Valedictorian, and the concept of there being a top student in the grade, is flawed. There are only tiny differences between top students’ GPA, making the pressure for students hoping to be the top almost unbearable. Does a .01 difference between two student’s GPAs really mean that one is a better student than the other?
The pressure to be the best can also put a strain on students. To be a valedictorian, you must excel in all of your classes, even ones you struggle with. This could cause students study hours per day, taking up free time from activities that they actually enjoy. It also causes students to take AP level courses, and to avoid all college levels as they are not graded on a 5 point scale. That means students who might have enjoyed taking Art or Music are out of the running to be the best student, even if they work hard at all of their classes. It also demeans the arts, giving them less value than classes like History, Economics, or Physics.
Does a small difference in grades really define a student or make them the best? Valedictorian is an outdated idea that places achievement over enjoyment in learning.