<p>Even when I was in HS, I remember one of my teachers saying that the brightest kids were not the straight-A kids, but the B-average kids. His observation was that the straight-A kids knew how to play the game, while the B kids took more risks. </p>
<p>Now that my own DD is in HS, I still think that’s true to some extent. HS grades can be very whimsical. I would like to think that every teacher grades fairly or judges fairly or is not swayed by a kid “kissing up” or is not impressed by a kid who is active in sports or is not eager to make a demanding parent/kid/GC/administrator happy. But some teachers are. The difference between an A and a B can be how much the teacher likes the kid.</p>