7 Valedictorians Share Spotlight : Thousand Oaks: Westlake High’s record is 10, set in 1988. Officials say students have seldom been more highly motivated.

In the world of high school academics, it’s getting crowded at the top.

Graduating at the head of the class once was a singular honor, the pinnacle of four years of study for one valedictorian. But at Thousand Oaks’ Westlake High School this year, the top academic honor is being shared by seven students, all of whom have amassed flawless scholastic records and perfect 4.0 grade-point averages.

The seven valedictorians were among about 385 students who graduated from Westlake High on Wednesday. The Conejo Valley Unified School District’s other high schools, Conejo Valley, Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks, also held their commencements.

The Simi Valley Unified School District will hold ceremonies at 6 tonight at Royal and Simi Valley high schools.

Although officials at Westlake High said the seven valedictorians represent an exceptionally high-achieving senior class, it’s not a record for the school. In 1988, the honor was shared by 10 seniors.

Thousand Oaks High has five valedictorians this year, and the title is being shared by three straight-A students at Newbury Park High. And schools throughout Southern California routinely split the honor among several students.

Education officials said increasing numbers of valedictorians at some schools may represent a trend as competition for entrance to the best colleges grows fiercer.

“I really believe students are more highly motivated now than at any time I can remember,” said Supt. William Seaver of the Conejo Valley Unified School District.

“In the 1960s and 1970s, there was much less of an emphasis on academics,” the 35-year educator said. “Right now, the competition is very great, and students know if they want to get into a prestigious college, they have to have good grades and the co-curricular activities.”

Carol Kennedy, a research consultant with the state Department of Education’s School Recognition Program, said that in 1985, when the state started sending recognition certificates for top students to schools statewide, officials sent two to each school, one for a valedictorian and one for a salutatorian.

“It was never enough,” Kennedy said. “We were inundated with extra requests.”

Last year, the state sent three certificates each to 823 high schools, but had requests from 68 of them for up to eight additional certificates. The certificate program has been discontinued this year, a victim of the state budget shortfall, she said.

At some schools, having a single valedictorian and salutatorian seems to have fallen by the wayside, Kennedy said. “It’s an old-fashioned, very traditional model that apparently isn’t used anymore,” she said.

Some of Westlake High’s seven valedictorians said they consider it an honor to share the title.

“I’m glad there are so many,” said Leslie Levine, 17. “I don’t think it takes anything away from it.” She said Westlake High’s system is more equitable because it allows everyone who has earned all A’s to share the honor.

“If all seven have worked to this extent and achieved this success, I don’t think it should be anybody’s say to pick out a single person” for the honor, said Hai-Lang Duong, 18.

In addition to Levine and Duong, the Westlake valedictorians are Shawn Campbell, Carl Chang, Agnes Chen, Peter Kelsch and Kane Sam Lai.

Although some schools give extra points for high grades in honors courses, allowing students to earn higher than a 4.0 average, the Conejo Valley district does not follow that system, officials said.

In addition, different schools use varying methods to decide on the top honors.

At Ventura High School, for example, ranking students sometimes comes within a thousandth of a point, so school officials decided several years ago not to name valedictorians because the competition is so close, Principal Robert Cousar said.

This year at Ventura High, for example, the top-ranking student earned a 4.397 grade-point average, while the second-ranking student had 4.396, Cousar said. The school gives extra points for As in honors classes.

And being valedictorian doesn’t automatically mean having to make a commencement speech.

At Westlake High, Duong was the only one of the seven who addressed the class, but only because she was chosen at an audition that included students other than the valedictorians, she said.

Like some of Westlake’s other valedictorians, Chen, 17, said she set the top spot as her goal shortly after high school began, and having six other students meet the same goal was not a problem.

“I’m actually very happy for all of them,” Chen said. “They’re all my good friends. They deserve it. They’ve done hard work for four years. It’s like a really good reward for putting in all that time and effort.”