Commencement ceremonies for the California High School Class of 2015 will look and sound a bit different than in the past.
Speeches will not be delivered by the valedictorian or the salutatorian. Instead, the speaker was selected by audition.
In fact, those titles will not be bestowed at all. Instead, the measure of grade point average (GPA) success will reflect the college form of Latin honors.
The changes were decided a few years ago by a committee of faculty and administration to be implemented with this class.
More students will be recognized at graduation for their academic performance, said Counselor Kim Wilkins.
"Especially here, our kids have solid GPAs," she said. "A kid at 15th still might have a 3.5. Now, they'll be recognized too."
Students are still ranked for college reporting. But most colleges are more interested in a student's GPA, attendance and the level of classes taken, Wilkins said.
Rank alone can be deceiving. If a student only takes "easy" classes and ranks first, he still may not be as appealing as a student ranked 15th but who consistently took the "harder" classes, she said.
"I think that makes more of a difference," Wilkins said. "It's a misconception to say the top student is always the smartest. There's a weight to when a student went outside his comfort zone - even if you got a B or C, you tried.
"It will ultimately serve them better to have dual credit hours."
California High School graduation will be held Sunday, May 17, at 2 p.m. in the high school gym.