Starting with the class of 2028, Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School is breaking tradition, choosing not to honor the top ten academic achievers and keeping class rankings private. As an attempt to mend the current teen mental health crisis and encourage the student body to take a wider variety of classes, BBHHS has transitioned to the Latin honors system, which recognizes students not only based on their cumulative grade-point averages (GPAs), but also on extracurricular involvement, ACT and SAT scores, and class difficulty. Inevitably, this decision was met with some skepticism over its potential impact on academic performance and mental health.
According to an article produced by the Broadview Journal, the school board met in June of 2024 to discuss a multitude of issues with the current academic recognition system; one of the most pressing concerns being the immense competition between classmates.
Often separated by extremely small margins, the line between top ten and everyone else was not always an accurate representation of the school’s academic excellence. Some claim those looking to achieve top ten status used loopholes like College-Credit-Plus (CCP) and Advanced Placement (AP) courses to inflate their GPAs.
“GPA isn’t a good representation. (CCP boosts, electives lower, etc.) A curious student would want to take electives and explore, but they also want to be top of the class. Having class ranking would stop them from doing so,” explains junior Doris Chen.
Since CCP and AP classes are weighted higher, some students would opt for these courses over electives, such as art and music, which can provide students with equally valuable learning opportunities. BBHHS principal, Kevin Jakub states, “In many cases, students avoided rigorous, enriching, or passion-driven courses—particularly upper-level music, art, and world language courses—out of concern that these classes might negatively impact their class rank. This behavior was counterproductive and limited students’ academic growth and preparation.”
Challenge Success, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving student engagement, mental health, and well-being, has noticed a trend, in which schools with class valedictorians and public class rankings tend to have higher stress levels. This increase can lead to even worse consequences such as “sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression, drug abuse, eating disorders, and suicide ideation”.
Also, schools labeled as high-achieving have involuntarily created toxic environments that foster disengagement, health compromises, and cheating among students who wish to achieve the title of valedictorian or salutatorian. Although BBHHS does not recognize either of these titles, similar effects were seen among students who faced external and internal pressures to place highly among their peers.
Jaci Owens, college and career counselor, supports this, revealing, “In working in this position for over twenty years, I have had many conversations with students who are ranked top ten or top ten percent, and how much they worry about that and how they let it control their curricular choices and their emotional state. It was concerning, which is one of the main reasons the committee came together to look at this.”
Senior Madeline Manley expresses, “This new change will affect the classroom environment by removing some of the competition. Having overheard and been involved in conversations about class rank, I think this change will reduce toxic comparison.”
The school board believes the Latin honors system could provide the perfect balance between recognition of student achievement and limitation of mental health risks. Often used collegiately, the Latin honors program is split into three categories—cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude—which put emphasis on college readiness and superior performances.
According to the Broadview Journal, cum laude (“with praise”) is for students whose cumulative GPAs are between 3.5 and 3.69, earned a minimum 1060 SAT or 21 ACT score, participated in two extracurriculars, and have taken two AP courses, dual credit hours, honors courses, or enrollment in a technical career program.
Magna cum laude (“with great praise”) status honors those who have cumulative GPAs from 3.7 to 4.1, involvement in three extracurricular activities, a 1200 SAT or 25 ACT score, and three AP courses, dual credit hours, honors courses, or enrollment in a technical career program.
The most prestigious category is summa cum laude (“with highest praise”). A minimum cumulative GPA of 4.2, a SAT score above 1360 or an ACT score above 30, participation in at least four extracurricular activities, and the collection of four AP courses, dual credit hours, honors courses, or enrollment in a technical career program, are the requirements to reach this level of achievement.
In addition, the Latin honors program is equally, if not more, appealing to college admissions officers. “The Latin honors system communicates achievement clearly and consistently while allowing students to build transcripts that are more attractive to admissions officers. Importantly, BBHHS continues to provide all necessary academic data to colleges when requested, ensuring transparency and advocacy for our students,” Jakub mentions.
Although these changes may seem positive, some students and staff disagree, expressing concerns that high achievers are not properly being recognized for their academic excellence and mental health threats still remain. Rachel Peterson, BBHHS sophomore, insists, “It[top ten and public class ranks] gives students who have put a lot of effort into schoolwork and classes a chance to be recognized in front of their peers. The stress that they have no doubt felt, propelled them to exceed past other classmates, but to also push themselves, is a valuable skill in the workforce.”
Brady Bourquin, BBHHS science teacher, offers his own opinion, saying, “We have lost a lot of the competitive nature of our society, and a little competition can go a long way to helping students prepare for what is to come after high school.”
Katherine Timpf, columnist for National Review, explains in a piece detailing her opinions on valedictorians and salutatorians, that the experiences earned while striving for top of a class can teach young adults about making sacrifices and overcoming difficulties. She feels not honoring the roles is unfair to students who have worked diligently to achieve the titles. Later, Timpf suggests eliminating public class rankings and valedictorian/salutatorian status will have no real effect on the problem of teen mental health, as students will still feel the pressure to achieve new levels of academic recognition.
On the other hand, students like freshman Elle Hileman, argue eliminating public class rankings prevents anyone from feeling disappointed or embarrassed in their academic performance. Several others hold similar opinions, sharing that this decision gives students more opportunities to take valuable courses that are weighted lower.
Manley notes, “One example of something positive that could come from the decision to remove top ten is that students will not miss out on electives sacrificed in order to keep a high GPA and maintain their rank.”
When asked if eliminating competitive roles, like top ten status, and keeping class rankings private would have mostly positive or negative impacts on BBHHS, 35.8% of students and staff responded positive, 48.3% said negative, and 15.8% replied unsure. These details reveal the overall division of BBHHS students and staff when it comes to the decision to remove this traditional academic recognition program.
Over time, the implications of this change will become more apparent, but the determination to end public class rankings and top ten status is not permanent. The school board can adjust and adapt the policy at any time if issues arise regarding the switch to the Latin honors system.
