The issue is in confusing test grades for success.

As a child, I did not have the capacity to tell the two apart and no one else told me. To me, and perhaps many others, test grades indicate success. The two are almost synonymous. If not, why do parents praise kids who top the class. Why is there streaming into EM1, 2 and 3 with indication that it's better to be in 1 than in 3?

Is it just in the grades?

It's just the tip of an iceberg.

An hidden assumption of using test grades as an indicator for success is that test grades show intellect, learning and effort. It shows us a student has been using his or her brain, becoming more intellectual and is hardworking or conscientious with work.

But, the relationship is not so direct.

For we found a way around the system. We showed that we can achieve the indicator of success without the underlying assumptions. We can get the good grades, and get all the goodies that come along with it (good school, good reputation, praises from parents and people), without becoming who the educational policymakers want us to be.

Many ways to do it. One way - study to the test.

So, is doing well in an exam, necessarily a success?

I don't think so at all.