One of the defining characteristics of Marxist ideology is that nobody should be considered exceptional, special, or otherwise noteworthy. This principle informs the policies and programs progressives seek to impose on the rest of the nation. A Colorado school district recently employed a policy reflective of this tendency and, unfortunately, if others follow suit, it will discourage students from pushing to achieve the highest standards possible.
ABC 7 Denver reported:
Cherry Creek School District near Denver, Colorado, announced last week that beginning in 2026, district high schools would no longer recognize a valedictorian during high school commencement exercises.
The announcement came in the form of a letter to families that said, “The practices of class rank and Valedictorian status are outdated and inconsistent with what we know and believe of our students,” according to KDVR. “We believe all students can learn at high levels, and learning is not a competition.”
The author also notes that the “[v]aledictorian and salutatorian designations have long been standard methods of honoring the top academic performers in a graduating class.”
The move elicited “mixed reactions” from parents according to KDVR. A parent named Kristen Stone argued that “[t]aking this away is not going to fix the problem.” She continued: “It’s not going to fix the stress that we are seeing for other students, plus it’s taking away from those who want to work towards it.”
Another parent said that employing such a measure is “not going to fix the stress that we are seeing for other students” and would also be “taking away from those who want to work towards it.”
Todd Rinehart, vice chancellor for enrollment at the University of Denver, supported the idea. “Nationally, class rank has been almost eliminated,” he said, pointing out that when students apply for college during the fall or winter, they do not yet know if they will be valedictorians.
“We’ve never used that in our admission review because the information has never been available,” he added.
In contrast to other parents, Rinehart contended that eliminating the valedictorian and salutatorian designation would remove a stressor for high school students. “There have been so many stress points for high school students. If we can relieve one of those, I think that’s a good thing, especially when admission committees weren’t using it to begin with,” he insisted.
Cherry Creek is not the first district in Colorado to put this type of policy in place. ABC 7 Denver noted that both Boulder Valley and Colorado Springs have eliminated the designations as well.
I’m going to side with the other parents on this one. Despite what folks like Rinehart think, having a valedictorian designation for those who work harder to achieve it does not place undue stress on high schoolers, many of whom are not even trying to compete for it. Moreover, even for the ones who try to accomplish the goal and fail, it would also teach them how to cope when something doesn’t go their way. It is yet another factor that will help them prepare for real life – you know, that thing where you don’t always get what you want?
But even more than that, these designations are beneficial because they give students something to strive for, a goal to reach. It’s an essential skill for any adult to have. But even more so, it can motivate kids to be the type of person who is willing to work towards achieving important milestones. It teaches grit and persistence and helps to instill the idea that hard work and perseverance can pay off. Sure, there are other ways to engrain this idea in children, but these designations are just another that can help raise the type of adults America needs.
Unfortunately, this is not how the far left thinks.
The very foundation of Marxism is the belief that nobody should be considered “better” than another. Indeed, being exemplary and striving for excellence is verboten in this type of belief system because it makes for an unequal society. Of course, they don’t tell you that even under a communist utopia, inequality still exists. Some animals are more equal than others, right? But this is the type of world progressives wish to create nonetheless.
In seeking to make everyone equal, Marxists wish to destroy the notion that people should all work to be the best they can be. It is antithetical to the progressive notion that we all should be considered the same and receive the same regardless of skill, intelligence, or work ethic. The flaw in this is that in realizing their utopia in which all are equal, the reality is that everyone is equally destitute and devoid of character.
When there is nothing higher for which people to endeavor, they are relegated to a simple function and deprived of meaning. There simply is no room for the individual in this world, except for the elites who rule over the plebes. The actions of these school districts provide yet another reason why parents must be more involved in their local school boards. Otherwise, it won’t be long before this line of thinking takes root.
