Crown Awards are the highest recognition given by the CSPA to a student print or digital medium for overall excellence.

A panel of Crown Judges assembles every year to view all entrants, whether they are newspaper, magazines, yearbooks or online media. No set number of Crown Awards is required; the awards are discretionary, based on the evaluation by the Crown Judges. They consider all aspects of value to the reader or viewer: content, design or presentation, coverage, photography as well as writing and editing.

Both Gold Crown and Silver Crown Awards are given each year. Gold Crown Awards were first presented in 1982, and Silver Crown Awards were added in 1984. The following document details award recipients from 1983 to 2023.