Each year at many high schools, selected graduates are recognized as the top students — the valedictorians.

It's a system of confirmation that many school districts in Ventura County follow, and some say the recognition helps the top students shine above the wave of Ivy League applicants.

But it's a system that also can be considered elitist and difficult to understand, said Oak Park High School counselor Randy McLelland.

"We have to ask ourselves, What do we value when we want to get that recognition?' " McLelland said. "There are kids who don't take Advanced Placement courses for a variety of reasons but still do very well in their classes."

That's why McLelland and former Oak Park Principal Lynn McCormack, who retired June 30, hope to change the school's current valedictorian policy to a cum laude system where more students have the opportunity to be recognized.

Under the current valedictorian/salutatorian program in the Oak Park Unified School District, only students who have taken the most rigorous classes in all subject areas are eligible for the top recognition.

That policy has provided some unfair advantages for a selected group of students, some Oak Park High officials have said. For example, some students who move to Oak Park High from other districts come with extra points, because their former schools offered more AP classes, McLelland said.

Although Oak Park has doubled its AP and honors offerings since 1995, school officials said it has become increasingly difficult to ensure all students have access to them.

"The (valedictorian) process is very competitive," McCormack said. "You not only have to have the highest GPA, the student also has to take certain classes. More students may want to take an AP course, but we might be offering less sections than students want to take."

McLelland and McCormack's proposal, which has been rejected by the school board, would create a new "Honors at Graduation" with three categories of recognition:

n Summa Cum Laude — a student must achieve a 3.90 or higher GPA on a 4.0 unweighted scale.

n Magna Cum Laude — a student must achieve a 3.70-3.89 GPA.

n Cum Laude — a student must achieve a 3.50-3.69 GPA.

Oak Park Superintendent Tony Knight said some board members were concerned that under the new system, students would not be recognized for taking tougher classes.

"I do think there is a way to make it more fair," Knight said. "It is very important to us that all of our students, not just a couple at the top, are recognized, but we do need to have another considerable discussion."

In the Las Virgenes Unified School District, students receive valedictorian recognition with a 4.2 GPA or higher and the completion of at least 26 semesters of AP or honors classes. Students receive salutatorian status if they have a 4.1 GPA and 22 AP or honors semesters.

"These policies can be very complicated, because you are trying to meet the needs of parents and students and at the same time protect the integrity of what is seen as a special award," said Jim Nielsen, Las Virgenes' director of secondary education.

For schools in the Oxnard Union High School District, the graduate with the highest GPA is named the valedictorian, while the student with the second highest average is salutatorian.

At Pacifica High School in Oxnard, the top 10 students are also recognized during graduation, said Principal Bill Dabbs.

"There is no perfect system, but we decided rather than recognizing just one individual, we recognized our top students," Dabbs said.