V. Hugh Lewis II/Jefferson Jimplecute
Following the rules is a part of going to school. As are using the correct words to describe something.
A combination of using the wrong words and a district policy which didn’t anticipate a situation, created a change in the final ranking for the JHS Class of 2025.
An audit by an outside auditor of the final calculated grades changed the ranking of six students – including the number one and two positions.
When the district made the announcement, it used the term “Valedictorian” instead of “Highest-Ranking Graduate.”
“I want to start off by congratulating our top two 2025 graduates, Ms. Haiden Shields and Ms. Christiana Justice. Their hard work, dedication, and perseverance helped them best 85 other students in their graduating class. Both of these young ladies certainly have what it takes to succeed on whatever path they choose,” Walker wrote in a release last week.
He went on to say that it was a “unintentional oversight in using the wrong wording when making the announcement” and that procedural changes would be made regarding public dissemination of information moving forward so this doesn’t happen in the future.
The district has the policy, established in 2022, where the “walking rank” for graduation is determined at the end of the 3rd 9-week grading period, or around March 5. The Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and Top 10% are calculated at that point. Then after the last day of school, ranking is re-calculated so that all GPA-eligible grades are includes for the entire school year. This re-calculation establishes the “highest-ranking graduate” who receives the honor graduate certificate from the State of Texas.
The district’s policy came about after a similar situation occurred in 2021 where the State Honor Graduate certificate was awarded to the student with the second highest GPA at the end of the year.
“Our current policy was followed when making these determinations,” Walker wrote. “We went a couple steps further than required to ensure the accuracy of the respective GPAs, which were within thousandths of a point, by having them independently audited and involving Region 8 Education Service Center to take a third look,” thus the delay in announcing the results.”
Walker explained, in a follow-up interview with the Jimplecute, that grades have been being audited since he came to the district as principal 11 years ago and that they are done at the end of the first semester, the end of the 3rd 9-weeks, and at the end of the year. He also stated that changes have occurred in the final ranking order but not to this extent.
“These students are highly competitive,” Walker said. “It’s important to us to provide a level playing field for our students. And we want to make sure that when the highest honor a graduate can receive is awarded, every grade is included. It’s typical for final transcripts to go out the last week of June. This year the auditor was on vacation and that delayed the final results announcement.”
As a result of the Board Policy and the recalculation, “Christiana Justice is the class of 2025 valedictorian, a local graduation honor. Haiden Shields is the number one ranked graduate of the class of the 2025, #1 of 87. Both students earned those honors based on the criteria used for each honor,” Walker wrote.
The district has in it’s policy to use three decimal places in the event of a tie. In this instance, the second decimal place determined the final outcome.
Walker said the School Board is already working on a policy change to try and eliminate this type of situation.
“Maybe we cut off Senior grades a week earlier [before end of school year], and pre-schedule the auditor with a deadline to get results back, so we don’t have this issue in the future,” Walker said. “But, we have several options that the Board will review at the August School Board Meeting so we have a final policy in place to start the year and so our students understand how that affects them all year.” He said all the districts in the area have slightly different policies, some of which account for similar situations, and some do not.
Walker also indicated his understanding of the situation and the implications to the students.
“I share the sentiment of the Board in our empathy for both young ladies experiencing the unintended rollercoaster of emotions this has brought them,” he wrote.
From the original top 10 percent listing, Grace Champion and Faith Franklin also swapped positions. Aiden Cooner was listed in the original top 10 percent listing but was replaced by Kinsley Powell.
Final top ten percent are, in ranked order:
Haiden Shields
Christiana Justice
Krina Desai
Alize Beham
Grace Champion
Faith Franklin
Nichols Wood
Kayleigh Snead
Kinsley Powell