Rising Standards for National Honors Society

National Honor Society has long been regarded as an academic honor for high school students. NHS acknowledges the academic integrity, potential, and diligence of high school students who have demonstrated involvement in not only academics, but extracurricular activities as well. Each chapter centralizes four major criteria: scholarship, service, leadership, and character.

However, the standard to become inducted into NHS has been raised in difficulty this school year. In previous years, the required cumulative average was a 90; however, the set requirement was raised to 93 this year. “HHH wants to maintain the idea of membership being the top academic pool of students for the consideration process,” says NHS advisor Mrs. Sarich.

Fortunately, the amount of inductees this school year hasn’t diminished drastically. As compared to the 146 inductees last year, 137 inductees (including 3 seniors) were inducted into NHS this past Tuesday.

Many students are, in fact, in favor of the district raising the required average for NHS. “I feel that the raise was necessary; it makes sense for a nationally ranked high school to have a higher standard set.  It is within reason to raise the bar of NHS to maintain the honor and integrity of the school,” commented Junior Bailey Liao. “The average simply enough needs to be high to make the title carry more weight,” agreed Connor Duenas.

Although a higher academic average certinaly enhances the academic quality of the district, other students are opposed to this change. “For students who are taking several AP classes, it is expected to see your average drop; the new requirement is certainly a motivating factor, but it is also a source of distress,” says Rohan Savargaonkar.

Despite the rising standards of NHS and the HHH district as well, NHS continues to be more than a simple acknowledgement of one’s dedication to academics throughout high school, but also a source of encouragement to students to reward them for their hard work.