NIAGARA FALLS — When Niagara Falls High School seniors graduate today, they may hear some encouraging words from the valedictorian of their class.

Then again, maybe they won’t. That’s because no one really knows who ranked No. 1 in the class of 2009.

Niagara Falls High School is the first in Niagara County to get rid of class rankings and valedictorians, a decision officials say was designed out of fairness.

Instead, 18 students will graduate today with so-called valedictory honors as their true class rank remains a mystery — one that school officials say even they can’t solve.

“We felt it was nice to recognize a valedictorian, but those other kids were so close,” said James Spanbauer, head of Niagara Falls High School. “We’re talking hundredths of a point sometimes. We felt they were all deserving.”

Students are mixed on their feelings of the new system. Some say it is nice that more can be honored, but others feel the shared honor lacks the same impact.

“It was disappointing because I had been working hard all these years to be No. 1. That was my goal,” said 17-year-old Kelly O’Brien. “It took a long time for me to, like, be OK with it.”

Instead, competitive students kept an eye toward the two valedictory speaking slots at today’s graduation ceremony. The speakers were selected by a panel based on interviews and a submitted speech outline. O’Brien will be one of the speakers, along with Chloe Legault.

To earn valedictory honors, students must have an unweighted 94 percent average or higher, at least a 90 percent score on eight Regents exams and completion of three advanced placement courses and their exams.

Although the district could rank the grades they have for students, it wouldn’t be accurate, Spanbauer said. The district hasn’t calculated any weighted averages based on course difficulty, as was done in previous years.

But a committee that researched the change in 2005 before it was approved for this year decided ranking was too arbitrary a measure of student performance. With different grading philosophies from teachers and the glaring realization that the top-ranked student in one school may not be top-ranked in another, a number slot didn’t seem worth snubbing seniors who worked so hard, Spanbauer said.

The tradition has been chipped away slowly by lawsuits, too.

Last year, Amherst parent Albert Gilewicz filed a lawsuit on behalf of his second-ranked daughter, disputing the inclusion of accelerated students, one of whom was ranked first. The appeal was denied.

New York’s Education Department doesn’t keep track of which schools recognize the honor, but a database search of commissioner’s rulings shows more than two dozen lawsuits related to the naming of valedictorian or salutatorian.

More and more, school districts across the country have abolished the honors.

At Lockport High School, the closest school by size to Niagara Falls in the county, fractions of a point can separate students from that honor. The most competitive students work the system of weighted averages for maximum benefit.

“It causes a lot of consternation and checking and double-checking of the averages,” said Principal Frank Movalli. “Sometimes it comes down to the last exam. One student gets a 98 and one gets a 99 and that nudges them over.”

Students are getting more comfortable with the idea in Niagara Falls, Spanbauer said. Complaints at the beginning of the year focused on applying for college, but many colleges don’t look at class rankings anymore.

Ashton Lavender, 18, a valedictory student, said the new rule took away some pressure from reaching a specific rank, but not the what-ifs.

“We’re all friends; we’re all just happy we’re all here together,” she said. “But some of us are still curious.”