Kankakee High School will no longer have a valedictorian or salutatorian and is switching to a college-style Latin laude system starting with this year’s freshman class.
The Kankakee school board made the decision last week to eliminate class rankings of students from No. 1 down based on grade-point averages. In its place will be honors recognizing everyone who scores at a certain threshold. School boards nationwide have taken similar steps to reduce pressure on students to achieve a top rank.
Superintendent Genevra Walters says the policy will let students take classes they’re interested in instead of courses to achieve a higher rank.
The high school still will track rankings for colleges. But Walters says colleges have been relying less on rankings for admissions and scholarships.
