Tri-Cities has 84 valedictorians. Should they all get to give a speech?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tri-Cities schools recognized 84 valedictorians from seven high schools.
- Speech time at some graduations will be capped, limiting student remarks.
- Valedictorian numbers surged due to GPA inflation and more college-level classes.
As family and friends flock to the Tri-Cities this week to watch some 3,300 high school seniors graduate, the top academic performers will revel and inspire many with their class departure speeches.
But some will give more words of wisdom than others.
Between the area’s seven comprehensive high schools, 84 valedictorians will be recognized as “top of their class.”
Half those students attend just two high schools: 25 at Hanford High and 22 at Richland High.
That’s about 1-in-18 graduating students at Hanford and 1-in-22 at Richland.
Both schools are sticking to a 15-minute total for all their speeches, giving each less than a minute.
With nearly all wanting to speak, the dozens of honorees aren’t happy at the prospect of getting just seconds to speak.
At the same time, time is precious for many of the large high schools that rent large event centers, like the Toyota Center, which costs schools about $8,500 a day.
A few of those students pleaded recently with the school board to throw out the time limit and allow each valedictorian to give a 1-minute, 30-second address.
“I personally feel that limiting us to 15 minutes is unfair to the students that have worked so hard for the past four years. We recognize 20+ valedictorians is a lot, however we follow the requirements,” Sheila Dehkordi, a Richland High student, said at a April 22 meeting.
The requirements, among others, for Richland schools include the highest GPA and completing five college courses through Advanced Placement, Running Start or College in the High School.
“Yes, one speaker would be the easiest. And yes, no one speaking would be, too,” Dehkordi continued.
“But both options are a slap in the face to the number of hours we collectively work to achieve this designation. If the district focused on changing the qualification for becoming valedictorian, this issue could be avoided in the future. But we shouldn’t be penalized because too many people rose up to the standard as outlined,” she said.
Different high schools and school districts have varying ways of recognizing their best and brightest.
More students these days are academically accomplished, and are willing to dedicate themselves toward their studies to maintain an unblemished academic record. In recent years, more than one-third of graduating seniors have reported taking AP exams to earn college credit.
A decade ago, for example, Hanford had 11 valedictorians and Richland had 17. In 2011, just six Falcons were named valedictorian, according to Herald archives.
While valedictorians often represent the brightest and most dedicated among a certain class — and often go on to attend some of the nation’s most prestigious collegiate institutions — the designation is rarely an indicator of life success, according to a report in the Boston Globe.
The term “valedictorian” comes from a Latin term meaning “to say farewell,” according to the National Society of High School Scholars, since the top student is selected to give the class’ final remarks. The salutatorian, or second-highest achiever, often gives the introductory speech.
It’s a tradition that reportedly originates from the nation’s colonial era. And while many high schools have done just fine with it, some across the country are ditching the system.
Ferris High School in nearby Spokane is one of them. In 1997, according to an archived Associated Press story, the 385-member graduating class had 16 valedictorians — all with perfect 4.0 GPAs.
Not all of the students could give exhaustive speeches, so they took turns reading from “Oh, The Places You’ll Go,” by Dr. Seuss.
But the Spokane school moved away from the traditional honoring system and transitioned into a Latin program in 2020, similar to universities. About 20 students will graduate summa cum laude, the school’s “highest praise” for academic accomplishment.
The 1998 article pegs a few reasons for the rise in “multiple valedictorians,” included among them “grade inflation” — the idea that students are earning higher grades than their predecessors.
Kennewick, Pasco graduations
Kamiakin High School has 14 valedictorians in the class of 2025, and Chiawana High School — the largest public high school in the state — has 13.
Kennewick High, Southridge and Pasco High have 10 between them.
A cross reference of the selection processes for the Kennewick School District and Richland School District shows they’re mostly similar.
To be valedictorian eligible, Kennewick seniors must have the highest GPA in all courses; earn at least five credits through AP, Advanced Honors or Running Start; and earn at least 2.5 credits at a Kennewick high school.
But Kennewick seniors cannot be enrolled full time in Running Start, the state program that allows upperclassmen to dual enroll in local community college classes.
Opting for pass/fail, an audit, an incomplete, retaking a class or no credit in a course also automatically disqualifies them.
In addition to GPA and AP requirements, Richland schools require valedictorians and salutatorians to have attended at least four classes on campus for at least one full semester at their high school.
Hanford and Richland High consider all courses attempted on the transcript for selection. Classes dropped, or converted to audits or pass/fails after the middle of the semester, are considered Fs.
Richland’s alternative high schools identify the student with the highest GPA and at least one semester of full-time enrollment as class valedictorian.
At comprehensive high schools, Richland also recognizes the top 4% of students as summa cum laude and students with a 3.5 GPA or higher as magna cum laude.
Pasco School District does not have a codified policy guiding valedictorian and salutatorian selections, said Anna Tensmeyer, director of public affairs.
Individual high schools there conduct a selection process by recognizing the students with the highest GPA in their graduating class.
