<p>In my year, the top 5 are noticeably smarter than everyone else. after sophomore year, there were prolly about 35 people in the top 3 (1 and 2 were unique and then 3 was a massive tie), but then the first semester of junior year just bulldozed most people, so in the end it tends to work out.</p>
<p>but i go to a really liberal school where your grade is almost solely based on how well you do on tests. usually teachers dont even care about hw or anything like that, since tests rule supreme, and they arent memorization tests usually (except for in ap us gah) so you have to actually think to do well, and thinking isnt necessarily a reflection of how well you study.</p>