'Decision Day' ranks seniors by prestige

"Decision Day" is supposed to be a celebration of high school seniors' futures, writes Samuel J. Abrams in the Washington Examiner. It functions as a "public ranking of adolescents" by the prestige of their future colleges.

At thousands of high schools, "seniors arrive in college sweatshirts, assemblies are staged, matriculation lists are published, and social media accounts celebrate elite acceptances with logos and school colors," he writes. This is not a private celebration. It's staged by the school.

"The senior headed to a regional university learns that her four years mattered less than the classmate headed to an Ivy," he writes. But, at least she has more bragging rights than students going into the military, a trade, or community college.

High schools should honor every path a graduating senior takes, Abrams argues. "Stop treating eighteen-year-olds as brand affiliates of the institutions that admitted them."

What used to be "College Decision Day" is now "College and Career Decision Day" at schools that celebrate. But there's not the same excitement for the kids who are going to live at home, deliver pizza and take community college classes.