In an effort to reduce competitive culture and improve students’ overall mental health, one high school in Ohio is doing away with valedictorian and salutatorian distinctions, according to local station WLWT5.
School officials announced Thursday that Mason High School will be eliminating both honors next year beginning with the Class of 2020.
The school will be recognizing students based on the Latin honors system. Students with a GPA of 4.00 and above will get summa cum laude, a GPA between a 3.99 and 3.75 will get magna cum laude and a GPA between 3.74 and 3.51 will get cum laude.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the students will still have the opportunity to take AP, honors and college-credit classes.
“This will help reduce the overall competitive culture at MHS to allow students to focus on exploring learning opportunities that are of interest to them,” Mason High school Principal Bobby Dodd said in a statement.
