In my country, being straight A student in primary school is pretty common and in richer areas almost expected from any above-average intelligent kids, especially girls (i know, i know).
But, the moment a kid enters secondary school, it is expected to be much more difficult so straight A students or any excellent students with great average grades are not common.
So….how is it in your countries primary and secondary schools? How hard or easy is it to achieve this?
PS My german language teacher once told us that it is almost impossible to get straight As in Switzerland and kids who achieve it will always appear in newspaper. Any swiss here to confirm or bust please?
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No. To be a straight a student you have to hand in perfect work for every single subject. You can make 0 mistakes in anything you do.
In university doing exactly what is required of you often gets you an 8/10 only, you need to seriously go above and beyond yo get a 10/10.
Getting an A in the US system is significantly easier than getting our highest grade, which is 12. The Danish system is kind of build in so that most people should be around the mid grade, 7, which is considered “average”. Doing 12 is doing something a bit more than just good. Tests with one correct answer is rare except in math, most exams are oral with some written, and most assignments are longer written pieces on some topic.
So no I have legitimately never heard of a person who got all 12’s in gymnasium, our most common type of youth education you get from you’re 16-19 ish. In basic school (from you’re 6-16 ish), on your end exams? Maybe, those are considered very easy, not unusual to get mostly 12’s and 10’s (next highest grade). But your basic school grades are basically useless and not important whatsoever and you only get grades for the last two years, not throughout your entire childhood like in many countries.
There has been some talk of tolvtalspiger, “twelver girls”. It’s usually discussed in relation to how school pressure is getting harder on young people and teenagers. But even so in this slang no one understands it as “this mean they’ll literally only get 12’s”.
In university this is extremely major dependent and many are talking about grade inflation but still would be highly uncommon.
If you can get a ‘straight A’ (or a 10/10 in normal terms) on everything you’re probably a genius or the school is ridiculously easy.
In university it’s completely impossible since they never give full points for anything. I think it’s actually impossible to get a 20/20 unless you are Einstein levels of brilliant.
Switzerland grades from 1 to 6. Usually, the grade is an expression of the ratio of possible points to attained points in an exam, 1 being equal to 0 %, 6 to 100 %; some models prescribe 80 % for a 6. Depending on the nature of the test and the subject, these grades can be rounded to quarters or even tenths. Above 4 is a “pass”, below is a “fail”.
In the final report at the end of the year, the grades are rounded to halves.
So it is actually [mathematically] possible to get a 6 in every single test. But I never heard of those children being in the newspaper. Maybe your teacher was under the impression that it was very difficult because even if you miss the mark by [only a small] bit you’re back on a 5.5, which is still a very good grade any student would be happy with.
When teachers and parents feel that a child is not challenged enough, a common solution is to make it jump a year.
Edits in square brackets.
I personally know 2 people who maintained straight A’s in all of Middle and High-School and no one in University. So I guess it’s pretty rare, definitely not common.
Not really. I was top of my class in elementary school and I don’t remember middle school, but in high school most people’s grades are around 7 or 8 (max is 10, you pass with 6). 9 and 10 are pretty rare
I got 10 A*s (over 85%) at GCSE and 3A*s (over 90%) at A-level (sorry for humblebrag). It’s not that uncommon, or at least it wasn’t when I left school 10 years ago.
At university it’s much more uncommon though. Most people, including myself, leave uni with an upper-second class honours (60-70%). A pretty decent number get first-class honours (over 70%), but to get into the 90s is very rare.
>In my country, being straight A student in primary school is pretty common and in richer areas almost expected from any above-average intelligent kids, especially girls (i know, i know).
We’re much the same in primary school and the first two years of high school. After that it becomes progressively less likely.
It sounds like it should be relatively easy to get As here as tests generally need 70-75% for an A, but we have different levels of exams for people in the same year, so a C at a higher level is still better than an A at a lower one. You could of course in theory just sit exams way below your ability level and get around 100% every time, but that goes against the spirit of this post really!
They do exist here and there in every school but aren’t the majority. Also I noticed that some teachers believe that “straight A students” aren’t geniuses or savants in any way. They think that a human is just not capable of being good at everything. Also if you’d have 10 in every subject on your matriculation certificate, you would not have any benefits when applying for university because of the belief I mentioned.
In Slovenia:
Elementary: sure, a bright kid can do it without much effort
Secondary: has to be a real overachiever kid or have a very delayed puberty
Higher: nope
I feel our system rewards work more than it does intellect or creativity. So our grades are really just a score of obedience.
Not at all. It’s possible, but it’s not expected. It is an aim in our secondary school finals though for many students, but before that no one really cares.
Grading doesn’t really work the same way in UK schools. But in terms of sweeping all top grades at GCSE (public exams taken at the end of year 11/ age 16), that’s not massively uncommon any more.
It used be near impossible on the old 13 grade scale. You basically had to demonstrate knowledge beyond the syllabus, which of course you also had to have perfect command of. I can only recall a 13 being awarded once, in one subject, to a classmate in primary school. To have made straight 13 you probably had to be an exceptional mix of above average IQ, insane work ethic, multitalent and probably from a family of learned individuals who can instil a sense of intellectual pursuit early on.
Today it is not uncommon to see “straight A” students with the 12 grade scale which has been around since like 2003. I myself got many 12s without much work.
It was the same in our classes. Very easy to have the best grades in everything till 5th class, then not impossible but even “straight A students” had some B (or 2s as it’s used in this country) but there was still enough students with honours or at least students with 2s at worst. The real downslide was highschool, it was harder and a lot of people (including me) simply didn’t care for trying to be best because of the worst puberty. And uni… weeelll, perhaps there were people who cared about the grades (usually when they wanted a scholarship) but most of us were happy that we passed with whatever.
Usually in 4th and 5th year in primary school it’s common. Then it gets harder in years 6-9, but still ok. Then in secondary school it’s very hard, and nobody has a perfect record in university.
I personally was satisfied with 100% in years 4-5 of elementary and 90% (marked as 5) in years 6-9. In secondary school it depended on the subject (either 75/80% in those I hated (mark 4) or 90% in those I liked). Now in university with some rare exceptions I am totally ok with 50%.
No, our grading system is 1 to 6, with 6 being 100%, so it is not feasible for a student to get a 6 in every test, exam, essay or oral answer (teachers pick several students during each lesson to answer questions relating to the last three lessons and give students a grade; this grade is worth less than a test and test is worth less than an exam) in every subject during the year.
We also get a grade for every subject (also 1-6) on a diploma every student receives at the end of each school year.
Technically you could receive a 6 at the end of the year if your grades from tests during the year were only 5’s and 6’s or if you succeeded in national Olympiad in a given subject. 6 is basically a distinction and no parent *expects* you to get them (while it’s nice if you receive them from time to time).
What would be our equivalent of a straight A student would probably be a student that receives overwhelming amount of 5’s, for which you need 91% – 99%.
As a recognition, schools award “świadectwo z czerwonym paskiem” – “a diploma with a red stripe” to such students. To receive one of those, the average of your grades from all subjects needs to be above 4.75.
Croatian grading system is 1-5, with 1 being fail.
Last year[ over 50% of students finished](https://slobodnadalmacija.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/prvi-put-u-hrvatskoj-vise-od-50-posto-odlikasa-povecao-se-i-broj-superodlikasa-s-prosjekom-5-0-tri-puta-manje-ucenika-s-nedovoljnim-uspjehom-1043143) with a 5 (4,5+ total average) and freaking 21,67% of all elementary and high school students had an average of 5,0 (straight A).
Basically, the whole grading system has failed. Or rather, teachers failed at grading.
Yes they exist, I would have been one if I cared more.
A straight A – or in the German system a 1.0 – is required if you want to get admitted into University for Psychology or Medicine.
Getting a 1.0 in university is AFAIK unheard of. The basic lectures are there to weed out students, I had more than 80% drop out of CS/EE in my year.
If you get straight A’s in the Netherlands you would go to the highest level of highschool called vwo, if you would get straight A’s on vwo too you would most likely enter university at around 13-14 cuz getting straight A’s is basically impossible cuz the level that is being teached is WAY higher then in countries like america or england because in those countries there arent different levels of highschool
there’s always few on the year, they higher the education the less frequent it is – in elementary school very common, in highschool not so much as ton of A-able students don’t care about subject they don’t need for uni. On uni it’s rarest, but still happens
Elementary school i think everyone would have 5s since everything is quite easy.
From 5th to 8th grade most people had average grades, just a few students from my class had all 5s.
And high school i don’t think anyone in my class had all 5s, but if you did you’d get money from school every month.
In Sweden it’s pretty easy if you have the aptitude for math so you can nail the natural sciences. Otherwise Swedish teachers are known for giving out very forgiving grades, especially if you are on good terms with the teacher and have good manners in the classroom. The grades between genders can be pretty badly skewed because of it.
There have been a few alarming articles recently from university professors on how bad their students’ language skills are. People are so exposed to English on a daily basis that their Swedish is suffering – one article claimed that like 1/4 of the Humanities students don’t have a passing high school Swedish. But they have also talked about how students claim they are more comfortable with English, but the evidence says otherwise when these students turn in their papers or hold oral presentations. There doesn’t seem to be an actual rise in English proficiency in return.
So the result is that more and more students are worse in their native language while keeping a typical L2 level in English, yet they pass high school. Very generous grading, indeed.
Middle school it’s hard but not impossible but you need to be very good everywhere (sciences, French, Art, Sport etc…) then highschool it’s like impossible. Too many exams, too many subjects (lots of sciences, philosophy, french exams, 2 foreign languages etc…)
In our system, the highest grade (sobresaliente) is 9-10/10. It is not unheard of to have all sobresalientes but it’s much more common to have all sobresalientes except for Phys Ed.
For the University Access Exam, though, it’s basically impossible to have a perfect grade 14/14 and whenever that happens the kids are featured on the press.
I used to be one of them, everyone thought I was some kind of prodigy-kid
then high school hit me really hard…
No one cares about grades, at least no one did when i went to school.
they usually make the news, they’re like 2 or 3 students per year and they talk about what field they are enrolling in and stuff
In primary school, I was a straight A student.
I went to high school in Germany, the language barrier caused a reduction in my grades, but I still had an A- average in the final years.
In university (Hungary), I was a straight A student for the first three semesters – however, online learning due to the pandemic certainly reduced my already low motivation and, as a result, my grades. Now, back in physical attendance, I’m (almost) a straight A again.
This probably isn’t very common, though… 😀
Getting all A’s pretty easy, I’ve known a few of those people. That’s why people compare the number of Laudaturs on their Matriculation exams.
Finnish high school students must complete several tests as part of their matriculation exam. The exams are quite flexible, they can be completed at several points during the three years of school. You have to choose at least three subjects in addition to the mandatory Finnish language exam. You can attempt more, as many as you think you can and have time for. Most people will do the four required tests, maybe a fifth one. The tests are graded with Latin phrases that get shortened to a letter. The highest grade for a test is *laudatur* or L.
Some students will attempt to complete or even ace the highest number of tests possible. The current record for most *laudatur* grades is 12, with the highest number of overall tests completed is 16. It is highly unusual, these students tend to make the news.
>Straight A students – are they common in your country or not?
There’s a trope in the British media called [“sexy A Levels”](https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/08/16/sexy-a-levels-closes-unrepentant-patriarchy_n_1787312.html?utm_hp_ref=a-levels) (yes, really).
The old joke was that when students pass their [A Level exams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-Level) at 18 the next day’s newspapers will have lots of photos of 18 year olds, often blonde girls, leaping in the air to celebrate passing their exams.
It’s no uncommon, but people usually don’t bother. Like why? I was never a straight A student and I had a social life. Unlike the straight A students I knew.
Mapping US to Dutch grading:
[Source](https://students.uu.nl/sites/default/files/geo-grading-systems-holland-vs-us-uk.pdf) (pdf)
|Dutch|American|Frequency in Dutch final exams|
|:-|:-|:-|
|10|A+|0.50% (10 + 9.5)|
|9,5|A+||
|9|A+|2.70% (9 + 8.5)|
|8.5|A+||
|8|A|14.00% (8 + 7.5)|
|7.5|A/A-||
|7|B+|40.00% (7 + 6.5)|
|6.5|B||
|6|B-/C|35.00% (6 + 5.5)|
|5.5|D||
|5|F|6.80% (5 + 4.5)|
|4|F|0.08%|
|3|F|0.03%|
|2|F||
|1|F||
Having a 7.5 or 8 average is not that uncommon for good pupils, at the highest level of secondary education 6% pass final exams with an average 8 of higher (This is called cum laude). If you pass with an average 9 you get the designation Summa cum laude.
Straight 10’s is extremely hard. People who get a lot of 10’s on their final exam will usually be featured in the newspaper. For example:
[Latin, economy, biology, chemistry, mathematics, statistics: 10, physics, civics: 9, English, Dutch: 8](https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/lotte-18-slaagt-summa-cum-laude-niet-met-een-twee-of-drie-tienen-maar-met-zes~a3fb52da/)
My own son also passed his final exams (with 3 extra subjects) summa cum laude.
From my experience – if you’re a “straight A” stundent in Poland, then your school is probably bad.
Straight A student as in equal to American A’s? Sure.
Straight A as in 10/10? It depends.
I’ve only ever met 2 people who managed to exit the 9th grade with a perfect 12 in every subject.
For gymnasium I haven’t met a single one. Ive only heard of one student getting straight “A’s” in gymnasium, because it was national news.
I remember in elementary school my mother was angry that I once had an average as low as 89%.
Getting straight A’s are the lowest approved grades in [Finnish matriculation examinition.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_Finland#Upper_secondary_schools)
Grade|Abbr.|Points|English explanation|Literal translation|Percentage of participants|
—————-|—————-|—————-|—————-|—————-|—————-|
laudatur|L |7|outstanding| lauded (praised)|Top 5%|
eximia cum laude approbatur|E|6|excellent|approved with exceptional praise|15%|
magna cum laude approbatur|M|5|very good|approved with great praise |20%|
cum laude approbatur |C|4|good |approved with praise|24%|
lubenter approbatur |B|3|satisfactory|gladly approved|20%|
approbatur |A|2|pass|approved|11%|
improbatur|I|0|fail/unsatisfactory|not approved|bottom 5%|
From what I remember, the people who bragged about having really good grades in primary school had really bad grades in high school. Turns out your previous school was just shitty.