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Alabama school system does away with top 2 honor spots

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama school system will no longer name valedictorian and salutatorians, instead opting for an honor system similar to universities.

News outlets report Huntsville City Schools want to expand the number of students they honor for high GPAs, starting this year.

Instead of naming the top two students, seniors who maintain a GPA of 4.0 or higher throughout their school careers will be designated summa cum laude. Students with a 3.8 to 3.999 will be magna cum laude graduates.

Spokesman Keith Ward says the change allows more students to be recognized and also takes the stress off other students who take weighted classes to keep their GPAs above a 4.0

The school system has six high schools: Columbia, Grissom, Lee, Huntsville, Jemison and New Century Technology.

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