That's what they were told. For as far back as any students can remember, 4.0 graduates from Durango (CO) High School were afforded a special honor. The school's colors are red and white. Most students wear red robes for graduation. Those who have a 4.0 unweighted GPA at graduation always got to wear white robes to highlight that achievement, but not any more. Recently the principal informed these 23 students that while their GPA is still recognizably by knots and they'll still get a mention, they'll have to wear the same color robe as everybody else. The following quote is quite telling.

"Every graduate has met the graduation requirements, and every child is special on graduation day," Lashinsky wrote. "I feel the white gowns worn by some graduates diminish the accomplishment and hard work of other graduates by relative comparison."
For some of the students, the thought of wearing the white robes was a great motivator throughout high school, a goal to reach. Half of them have sent letters of protest.

http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin...ws080417_1.htm

I, personally, think it's asinine. By not rewarding excellence, you are encouraging mediocrity. The efforts of government schools to keep any child from ever feeling inferior, ever (unless, of course, they're not good at football or basketball), they have removed nearly all incentive to succeed, causing us to raise a generation of dunces with no real education and no motivation.