Recently, various changes have been made to future classes’ honors opportunities. The Class of 2026 is now the cut off for the changes to honors classes, meaning that current juniors and seniors will be unaffected by the modifications. However, current sophomores, freshmen, and any upcoming classes will no longer receive weighted credits for honors classes taken in freshman and sophomore years.
Honors classes for lowerclassmen will not be weighted until their junior or senior year. They also only have letter grades and do not receive pluses or minuses, unlike current juniors and seniors. Additionally, the weighted class multiplier is no longer offered, and students will earn weighted credit for each weighted class they take. Along with these changes, there have been modifications made to class ranks.
“Freshmen and sophomores will not have a class rank. Instead, students can earn distinction for graduation,” counselor Shawn Wallace said.
There are three types of distinction new classes can receive. These include in order from highest to lowest, summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude. In order to receive the highest distinction, you must receive a minimum GPA of 4.20. For magna cum laude, you must have a GPA of 3.80. Finally, for cum laude you must have a GPA of 3.50. You must also meet a minimum requirement of 30 credits to qualify for academic distinction.
I find the changes made to honors classes unnecessary and unfair to the student body. Since juniors and seniors have weighted honors classes, freshmen and sophomores should receive the same opportunities.
Honors classes have been a pivotal part of my high school experience. Ever since I knew they were an option, I took all the honors classes in my strong suit subjects like English and history. With classes I decided not to take honors in, like math and science, I found myself wishing I had. The environment of an honors class is a lot better fit for me than regularly paced classes.
Additionally, in many regular classes I have taken, I found myself distracted by students in the classroom who didn’t share the same goals and academic ambitions as I did. In honors classes, I found it much easier to keep up with the work that was faster paced, and felt like the classwork was much more organized. Not only is the environment better suited for many, but there are numerous benefits of having weighted classes.
Weighted classes provide an increase in students’ GPAs and can be incredibly rewarding after taking a challenging course. Without weighted courses, the possibility of obtaining a 5.0 is eliminated, which could be devastating for many. Having a 5.0 GPA can increase the chances of getting into top-tier universities and competitive programs, and is something many students strive to achieve throughout their high school career.
Although colleges are much more focused on how well an applicant did in their classes, students having honors classes on their transcript can prove they are interested in challenging themselves academically, which can be a green flag for colleges.
A common misconception about honors classes is that they are pointless or have little benefit to students. However, honors classes can help students develop a stronger work ethic, push them to challenge themselves and prepare them for college level courses by helping them develop effective study habits and crucial critical thinking skills.
“The main difference between honors and regular classes is that honors classes are typically taught at a faster pace and explore topics further than a regular class,” Wallace said.
For those heavily involved in academics, these differences can be crucial. However, even with the changes being made to which classes are weighted, honors classes will still remain the same in terms of workload and other differences from regular classes.
