By Maria Glod
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 17, 2006; A01
All those late-night study sessions finally paid off. Christina Azimi graduated as valedictorian of Fairfax's Robinson Secondary School.
So did Travis Halbert, Azimi's friend since elementary school. And Jonathan Cross, who was in her English class. In fact, when Robinson Principal Dan Meier praised the school's top academic talent at commencement Thursday afternoon, nearly two full rows of graduates stood to be recognized as valedictorians.
"At this time, I would like to award all 41 students who have achieved that honor," Meier said as the crowd cheered. "I tell these guys," Meier joked, "the only thing I have in common with them is I rarely received a B in high school myself."
As high school graduates across the region accept their diplomas this month, one tradition has changed greatly. The title of valedictorian -- the coveted top slot for the brainiest student -- is no longer necessarily reserved for the single best student.
A growing number of schools, such as Robinson, bestow the title on every graduate who earns a grade-point average of 4.0 or higher. Montgomery and Howard county schools have done away with the distinction to ease competition in a system that was producing increasingly more 4.0 students. Other districts -- Prince George's and Loudoun counties, Alexandria and the District included -- have stuck with the traditional route: Pick one valedictorian and a salutatorian. (Unless a tie forces a few students to share the glory.)
The push for multiple valedictorians began years ago, prompted by concerns that high school had become too competitive -- so competitive that a few students seeking the title filed lawsuits. As more students enrolled in weighted advanced classes and earned grade-point averages far above 4.0, educators wondered whether it was fair to single out one teenager. There was concern a student would take a less challenging class to guarantee an A or take on an unreasonable workload of weighted classes to boost a GPA.
Meier said that in a school as big as Robinson Secondary, which had 687 graduates this year, it would be a shame to single out only one high-achieving student.
"The competition is very, very steep to be shortstop or to be the lead in the class play," Meier said. "But when you have 30 or 40 people who have a GPA over 4.0, this is a way to recognize all of them."
Cross, a Robinson graduate with a 4.15 GPA, is happy to share the honor with his friends. He said that as the school year wound down, students bantered little about class rank.
"We didn't have to beat each other for that one title," he said. "While it was competitive, it's cooperative. I didn't feel it was that cutthroat."
But Robyn Burgess, a co-valedictorian at Oxon Hill High School in Prince George's, does not buy the argument that everyone can be a winner. She is not thrilled that a virtual tie in GPA made her share the honor.
"My whole aim is to be on top," Burgess said. "If I was one of a few, it's not as special."
Burgess, who is headed to Columbia University in the fall, remembers sitting down with a friend in ninth grade and telling him that she intended to become valedictorian. From that day on, she worked toward that goal.
For instance, there was the time Burgess needed a 95 percent or better on a world history paper to get an A in the class. She wanted that A. So she hunkered down and turned in a 26-page paper instead of the required 12-page paper and "made sure the content was immaculate."
During her graduation speech, Burgess told her classmates that they should be focused, too. "I talked about how you have to really know what you want and set your goals," she said. "The theme was nothing happens until you decide."
Oxon Hill Principal Gordon Libby agrees with his top student. Libby wasn't his school's valedictorian, but his friend, whom he fondly remembers as "the nerdy guy who hit the books," was.
"We have a society where you're going to be competitive your whole life," he said. "When you apply for a job they aren't going to say, 'Everybody did good, come on in.' Somebody wins, and somebody loses."
Even when high school is a distant memory, the title of valedictorian is often invoked as a sign of accomplishment. When President Bush nominated Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court, he noted that Alito was the valedictorian of New Jersey's Hamilton High School East-Steinert High School. The Web site of Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) says he was valedictorian of a class of 28 students in the 1930s at Mark Twain High School in Stotesbury, W.Va.
But it is clear that there is no consensus among educators, or students, on defining valedictorians. In Fairfax County, the decision is made school by school. Edison High School has one valedictorian. But Principal Gregory Croghan said it has gotten so close -- with GPAs separated by only the tiniest fractions -- that he has decided to recommend a policy change to make everyone with a 4.0 or higher an "honor graduate."
"I say if you're running a race, then certainly there's competition," Croghan said. "But we never set up our educational process that way. We don't say, 'Your goal is to get a higher GPA.' Your goal is to learn as much as you can."
Asad Mahmood, 17, who graduated this year from Woodrow Wilson High School in the District, said he has envisioned himself as sole class valedictorian since the 10th grade. His work paid off.
"There is only one person for the job, and everybody tried to get there," Mahmood said. "I worked for it. If there were a lot of people, there wouldn't be that much competition or that much excitement."
