I don't particularly care what John Kerry got for grades in school, but the Cranky Professor explains why so many others do.

Now as a college professor who just attended a college reunion weekend I can tell you that grades are not a particularly useful predictor of life performance -- something that irritates academics to NO end. That's part of why lots of academics were eager to believe that John Kerry had higher grades and a higher I.Q., because we not particularly secretly resent our C students who do well. Colleagues and other professors regularly allege that poor student who do well must have used family connections, family money, or well-planned marriages for advancement.

Grades tell us about hard work perhaps or good study habits, but those don't always correlate to success because, related to what I said last night, those are simply inputs, not outputs. Many are the athletes with great raw talent who never turn it into performance on the field. The 'C' student who actually stays to get the degree has shown persistence and the ability to meet a goal, without many academic accolades. That counts for something.