What is the rarity of a straight-A student?

[recon]

Out National Examination results were released today. Out of the 6000 students who sat for the exams, only 3 scored straight A's. Right now, I am interested in finding out the rarity of straight-A students in other countries.

 

[Nylex]

With our A Level exams here, to be honest it isn't that rare for people to get AAA.

 

[Grandor]

With our A Level exams here, to be honest it isn't that rare for people to get AAA.

I hear your A levels are a bit of a breeze...

 

[ek]

Probably 5% or less of my graduating class had straight A's. Maybe more like 2 or 3%. Of course I was one of them.

 

[gravenewworld]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/02/01/freshmen.survey.ap/index.html


Apparently in America, straight A students are a dime a dozen. According to the article, almost half of all incoming freshman at college had "A averages" in high school.

 

[jai6638]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/02/01/freshmen.survey.ap/index.html


Apparently in America, straight A students are a dime a dozen. According to the article, almost half of all incoming freshman at college had "A averages" in high school.

even though american public school education is so easy...

 

[omagdon7]

I don't think they were referring to high school grades but I could be wrong. That being said getting straight As doesn't mean anything if you take simple courses. So while most American students choose not to challenge themselves it isn't a condemnation of our educational system. I feel that if students put in effort we'd be ranked first in education in the world.

 

[jai6638]

I don't think they were referring to high school grades but I could be wrong. That being said getting straight As doesn't mean anything if you take simple courses. So while most American students choose not to challenge themselves it isn't a condemnation of our educational system. I feel that if students put in effort we'd be ranked first in education in the world.

umm imo compared to other countries, the regular courses offered at high schools are very easy and can't be compared to courses offered at high schools in other countries...

Bottomline, US's high school education would not imo rank first in the world.. Although, US's university education is great i must admit!

 

[Justin Lazear]

I feel that if students put in effort we'd be ranked first in education in the world.

Have you ever tried convincing somebody to put effort into something they neither care about nor understand why they should care about it?

In other news, I'm a proud member of the "I didn't get straight A's in high school club".

--J

 

[JasonRox]

I used to get straight A's in college, but now I don't give a rats ass.

Getting straight simply means you waster your time doing what the prof wanted you to do. Do WHAT you want to do.

 

[Andromeda321]

Getting straight simply means you waster your time doing what the prof wanted you to do. Do WHAT you want to do.

I'm going to take some offense at this comment on behalf of a few of my friends who maintain their 4.0s. What's wrong with them doing so and holding themselves to that standard exactly? And I assure you they don't do it just because profs tell them to jump through hoops: they do it because they enjoy learning and showing they know the material as well as they do on the grounds that if you really have mastered a subject it will show. Getting As is a challenge they gladly accept weather they respect the professor or not (because physics equations do not change for the whim of a teacher).
Mind, I am not one of the 4.0 crowd for reasons I won't go into here. But I hold high respect for my friends nonetheless and never for an instant have I thought that they're "wasting their time."

 

[Justin Lazear]

(because physics equations do not change for the whim of a teacher).

Unfortunately, the meaning of symbolism in books, the role of slavery in American history, the quality of one's essays, and the prettiness of your painting do not share this property.

--J

 

[Andromeda321]

Tell that to my English major friend. Sometimes she'll get a prof who doesn't like her writing for some reason or another so she'll go in and defend it to the death/ work on good suggestions (has yet to say what she thinks she's "supposed to" say however). Seems to work for her...
Note: yes I do know that there are a few people out there who happen to grade beyond rational reach. These are not the people I'm referring to really because they're all told not the norm and grades given by them should be treated as such. You know what I'm talking about.

 

[JasonRox]

I'm going to take some offense at this comment on behalf of a few of my friends who maintain their 4.0s. What's wrong with them doing so and holding themselves to that standard exactly? And I assure you they don't do it just because profs tell them to jump through hoops: they do it because they enjoy learning and showing they know the material as well as they do on the grounds that if you really have mastered a subject it will show. Getting As is a challenge they gladly accept weather they respect the professor or not (because physics equations do not change for the whim of a teacher).
Mind, I am not one of the 4.0 crowd for reasons I won't go into here. But I hold high respect for my friends nonetheless and never for an instant have I thought that they're "wasting their time."

If the material they are teaching is what you want to do, than do it. I said "DO WHAT YOU WANT".

I'm a math major and I would like them to teach formally. Since they are not, I do not put any effort into the courses and teach myself on the side, in a formal fashion. The lame Stewart kills everything for those who actually want to learn math.

Note: Stewart is a crappy author who writes crappy math textbooks.

I would say by 3rd year I will be in class I want to be in. I hope they teach it in a good fashion. I hate the boring ass taking one tiny freaking step at a time. Everything is just so slow it drives me up the wall.

 

[Justin Lazear]

Tell that to my English major friend. Sometimes she'll get a prof who doesn't like her writing for some reason or another so she'll go in and defend it to the death/ work on good suggestions (has yet to say what she thinks she's "supposed to" say however). Seems to work for her...
Note: yes I do know that there are a few people out there who happen to grade beyond rational reach. These are not the people I'm referring to really because they're all told not the norm and grades given by them should be treated as such. You know what I'm talking about.

I'm just trying to point out that straight A's do not necessary follow from mastery of the subject. If your friend wants to fight with the teacher over grades and is willing to put in the work to do so, good for her. Doesn't mean she's mastered the subject better than somebody else in the class who did not achieve as high a grade, though.

I have no problem with people that want straight A's. I just disagree about the importance or value of it. Nobody ever said I had to agree with everybody, or that everybody had to agree with me, though!

--J

 

[Bladibla]

I'm just trying to point out that straight A's do not necessary follow from mastery of the subject. If your friend wants to fight with the teacher over grades and is willing to put in the work to do so, good for her. Doesn't mean she's mastered the subject better than somebody else in the class who did not achieve as high a grade, though.

I have no problem with people that want straight A's. I just disagree about the importance or value of it. Nobody ever said I had to agree with everybody, or that everybody had to agree with me, though!

--J

I agree with you.

There are people in our school who get straight As in subjects, but do not take what they study into depth i.e. they don't research it for their own fun and beenfit. While this is not compulsary, and i respect those who are pragmatists, but it is such shame..

 

[Kalimaa23]

In Belgium, a 60% average means you passed.
A 70% average means you're good.
A 80% average means you're very good.
A 90% average means you're exeptionally good.
And a 100% average doesn't happen.

All examens are marked out of 20. People that actually have gotten a 20 on an exam are extremely rare. I've gotten two on the theory part of an examination, only to make some mistakes in the practical part.

So the equivalent of a straight A student does not exist here. Not even, to my knowledge, the two Fields-medal winning alumni of my university.

 

[Andromeda321]

I'm not saying that if you get straight As then that means you have complete and utter mastery of a subject in all cases. I'm just saying that in most cases you will find that if a kid does get straight As then they probably know the subject a heck of a lot better then one who doesn't. There are always exceptions to this, of course, but as a general rule it does stand.
I just went off on my little rant because in my experience it seems like there are a lot of people out there who say they could make straight As but just don't want to etc. I always thought in most cases, particularly when the person is saying this about themself, it's just another way of saying they can't. This doesn't refer exclusively to plain old slackers and such either.

 

[etc]

to hell with your "grades". a person's quality is measured outside of school by the number of quality works he produces.

 

[Mika-Yugo]

JasonRox,
Which university are you studying math at? Thank you.

 

[Bladibla]

to hell with your "grades". a person's quality is measured outside of school by the number of quality works he produces.

I wish the world were that considerate...unfortunately...

 

[JasonRox]

JasonRox,
Which university are you studying math at? Thank you.

At this point, I can't state what school I study at.

I don't have the right because defamation can be a problem (i.e. implicit).

 

[Haelfix]

I never had straight A's in hs in college or in grad school. Half the time I wouldn't go to class, or was bored. I can recall some times where I had done a homework set, but it was messy, so I didn't hand it in b/c I was too lazy to rewrite it cleanly.

I still ended up with 3.7 or so, which was pretty good for my undergrad college.

Personally I don't think much of that matters, I am well on my way to getting an assistant proffessor position, and I've surpassed many people who blew by me in grades. Persistance, and quality of research is all that matters.

 

[JasonRox]

I have a question...

What are you trying to prove with straight A's?

If you want to prove the world...

Is it necessary to prove to the world your intelligent?

 

[juvenal]

Unfortunately - grades do matter - for getting into college, and what happens afterwards. Law school. Med school. Management consulting. Etc.

I did not get straight A's in college. And didn't get A's in all the classes where I worked my butt off.

But, I have found that the smarter you are - the easier it is to get an A in a class you might not enjoy. To be sure, there are a fair number of grinders and grade-grubbers, but a good number of the people who can get straight-A's or close at a top-notch university (and land Marshall Scholarships for example) are just extremely brilliant and talented people. I have a great deal of admiration for them.

 

[Bailey]

Note: Stewart is a crappy author who writes crappy math textbooks.

I would say by 3rd year I will be in class I want to be in. I hope they teach it in a good fashion. I hate the boring ass taking one tiny freaking step at a time. Everything is just so slow it drives me up the wall.

personally i like stewart book, its compact & many examples & fast learning.

btw what make u think u can criticize him (i assume ur in calculas II atm)? can u do better?

last note: if u hate boring class, do what i do sometime. skip 60% of the lecture, & start reading text 3 night before an exam (3 night caz i tend to have 2 science exam on the same day).

if u think the class is going too slow. go read the text & chalenge the course!

 

[Justin Lazear]

personally i like stewart book, its compact & many examples & fast learning.

Stewart's book is great if you want to learn how to do calculus, but it's not exactly insightful in what everything means. Nor is it particularly rigorous.

btw what make u think u can criticize him (i assume ur in calculas II atm)? can u do better?

One can criticize whomever one wishes. The trick is making sure the criticism is accurate. And the "Can you do better? Then do it!" argument is silly.

last note: if u hate boring class, do what i do sometime. skip 60% of the lecture, & start reading text 3 night before an exam (3 night caz i tend to have 2 science exam on the same day).

What exactly is the purpose of doing this?

if u think the class is going too slow. go read the text & chalenge the course!

Challenge the course...?

--J

 

[kdinser]

Who would you say is smarter? My x-girlfriend that could just read through a chapter in physics and never actually do a problem until the day of the test? Or myself, who had to do every example problem, every homework problem, sometimes multiple times, and spend hours memorizing every formula in the book? We both got A's in the class, she just got a lot more sleep.

On the other hand, anyone that could get an A in a class and doesn't is just plain lazy. Not that there is anything wrong with that, as long as it doesn't impair your chances to get where you want to go in life. When it comes to hard, physical labor, I'm about as lazy as it gets. I can't stand working outside, digging holes and doing real work, that's why I fix computers .

 

[JasonRox]

personally i like stewart book, its compact & many examples & fast learning.

btw what make u think u can criticize him (i assume ur in calculas II atm)? can u do better?

last note: if u hate boring class, do what i do sometime. skip 60% of the lecture, & start reading text 3 night before an exam (3 night caz i tend to have 2 science exam on the same day).

if u think the class is going too slow. go read the text & chalenge the course!

There are better texts to challenge yourself. You don't have to put yourself behind to challenge yourself. What would you do during that time your waiting for the class to move up?

I personally believe that Stewart should not be taught to math majors because that is just ridiculous for a math major to waste time on that. Stewart is great for maybe other science majors, but that is as far as it should go.

Reasons why it sucks:
- Not rigorous in any shape or form.
- Too many examples. You might like this, but I don't.
- Skips a lot of important stuff, probably because it would make it too difficult. (He barely or never talks about the precise definition of a limit)

I have my reasons.

 

[gravenewworld]

I have used stewart's book and it is good. Of course it is not that rigorous. An incoming freshman who has never taken any calculus at all doesn't take advanced calculus (i.e. real analysis) until they complete calc1-3. Stewart's book is meant to get your feet wet with calculus, it wasn't intended to be a book on advanced calc. Most people don't even see epsilon-delta proofs until they take advanced calc. You have learn how to walk before you can run.


Last semester I took 20 credits while working 20 hours per week and got straight A's. Was it worth it? I would have to say no. I ended up pulling 2-3 all nighters per week, I was always exhausted. I much would have rather gotten a 3.0, not do any work, got more sleep, partied, and gone to the bar more.

 

[Eratosthenes]

You guys should really appreciate the fact that you are able to be in school and do your best. Do your best at everything you do in life.

As for the original poster, it's kind of rare. Getting straight A's shows that you have desire and are intelligent.

 

[JasonRox]

You guys should really appreciate the fact that you are able to be in school and do your best. Do your best at everything you do in life.

As for the original poster, it's kind of rare. Getting straight A's shows that you have desire and are intelligent.

So, if I was your prof and I told you to do annoying repetive stuff, you would do your best every single time?

That gets boring.

It's like me giving you 250 questions everyday of the following:

The integral from -2 to 2 for x^2. Wouldn't that be annoying? You know you can do it all so why bother. What are you trying to prove?

Look at happened to Galois. They thought he knew nothing simply because he couldn't annoying little ****s over and over again. He knew he can do it, so he didn't bother doing them. IT IS POINTLESS. Prove yourself and not the world.

If you think you might not be able to do it, then yes, try your best.

 

[gravenewworld]

I totally agree with what you say Jason. That is why I take as many independent studies as possible. I hate wasting time in the classroom

 

[etc]

it's like .. some post is missing. bet the censor is beating off.

-- etc, you kno?