DECATUR - The Class of 2010 will graduate with a different set of honors.

The Decatur school board on Tuesday approved a plan to phase in a change in graduation honors, replacing the traditional valedictorian and salutatorian honors with summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude.

At the April 22 meeting, Eisenhower High School Principal April Hicklin presented the proposal to the board. Since the board approved the weighted grades system that went into effect this school year, a committee has been working on a proposal to alter graduation honors to complement the new system.

The committee's proposal, which the board approved as presented, was to phase in the change over the next two years. This year's senior class will graduate with valedictorians and salutatorians as before. For the Class of 2009, valedictorians and salutatorians will be named on a nonweighted scale, with the addition of summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude honors. Summa cum laude students may submit a graduation speech, and one student from that group will be chosen to speak at graduation along with the valedictorians and salutatorians.

The Class of 2010 will not name valedictorians or salutatorians; only summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude honors will be awarded.

To qualify for summa cum laude, students must achieve a 4.0 grade point average and meet or exceed standards in four areas of the Prairie State Achievement Exam. Magna cum laude students must achieve a 3.5 and meet or exceed in three areas on the exams, while cum laude students must achieve a 3.0 and meet or exceed in two areas.

"This will help the district," Hicklin said. "It's putting a carrot out there for the kids to perform to the best of their ability on the PSAE."

Some students, she had told the board on April 22, even high achievers, fail to take the Prairie State test as seriously as the American College Test, which is given during the same time period, and connecting graduation honors to the state test will encourage them to do their best on it.

Gold deltas will continue to be awarded to students who have achieved a minimum of a 3.5 GPA.

All board members except Kevin Moore voted in favor of the change.

Valerie Wells can be reached at vwells@ herald-review.com or 421-7982.