Getting A Ten-Year-Old's More Worldly-Wise Perspective On Grading

In the car last Saturday, Daniel asked Ian at when grade inflation ceases to be policy for Russian Math:

"Ian, what grade do they start giving B's and C's and D's and F's?"

One of them, - I think Daniel -  said, "You only get a B if you're really, really bad."

From what Ian said, it turns out that second graders at the Russian Math school really do get grades other than A's, which made me happy for Daniel that apparently his quality of work has prevented him from discovering that.  Ian explained that as soon as you start getting percentages in the work that you turn in, those numbers start showing up as grades.

But the overall cultural insight provided by Ian was especially heart-warming; it brought out his own apparent unfamiliarity with sub-standard grades, probably typical of a first-born child with an academically "intense" mother:

"Umm... I can't believe it, but it turns out B's are average!"

(November 22, 2013)