Grade In education , a grade or mark was a standardized evaluation of a student ' s understanding of a topic , subject , or discipline as judged by a teacher or professor . Letter grades ( " A " – " F " ) were given in both grade school and at Starfleet Academy . ( ; ) During a conversation between Captain s Jean - Luc Picard and Phillipa Louvois , in 2365 , where Louvois muddled through an attempt to acknowledge Picard for approaching her for help in protecting Data , saying " " I ' m glad you felt you could . . . well , come to me . " " Picard chided her stating , " " the word " trust " just isn ' t in your vocabulary , is it ? Good try . Top marks for effort . " " ( ) After Reginald Barclay stammered through an explanation of the elements of the Pathfinder Project to Admiral Owen Paris , Paris told Barclay " " I can ' t give you high marks for clarity , Lieutenant , but you ' ve certainly got my attention . " " ( ) In 2376 , Chakotay handed Kathryn Janeway Seven of Nine ' s ship - wide efficiency analysis , Janeway asked , " " did we get a passing grade ? " " , to which Chakotay replied , " " barely . " " ( ) An alternative to letter grades , especially for students of younger ages , was a gold star . When Seven of Nine introduced One to B ' Elanna Torres , she described Torres as having " " a volatile temperament . " " Unclear on the meaning , One accessed his memory and defined the term " volatile " as meaning " " readily vaporizable at low temperature ; easily aroused , tending to violent eruption . " " Upon completion of his definition , Torres sarcastically remarked , " " Very good . You get a gold star . " " ( ) Grade school . While attending school aboard the , Wesley Crusher bragged to Guinan that he always got A ' s on his science project s . Guinan added that Dr . Frankenstein did too . ( ) After Wesley Crusher was assigned to the in 2365 as part of a wargame , he pretended to have forgotten about a " very critical experiment " he was working on for his final grade in plasma physics . ( ) In 2370 , Benjamin Sisko claimed to the Miles O ' Brien replicant that he was talking to Keiko O ' Brien about his son ' s slipping grades . O ' Brien later offered to have Jake assist him with a sort of work - study experience , as " " a chance to get your grades back up . " " Jake was eager to assist , provided that it was not a conflict of interest , and added , " " my grades are great . I want to keep them that way . " " ( ) Later that year , Jake begged his father to have Nog join them on their trip to the Gamma Quadrant for a science project , claiming that , " " if Nog doesn ' t get a good grade on this project he ' s going to drop out of school . " " ( ) When Nog asked Benjamin Sisko to be his sponsor for recommendation into Starfleet Academy , in 2371 , Sisko ' s initial response was , " " your reputation on this station leaves a lot to be desired . Your school grades are mediocre at best , and you ' ve had run - ins with Constable Odo . " " ( ) Starfleet Academy . Commander William T . Riker cited an example of how his former Starfleet Academy classmate Paul Rice was " a risk taker , " stating that on his final test in Advanced Navigation he rejected the three options given on the test and offered his own . For his efforts , he " got the top grade , " and now that test has four options . ( ) When Doctor Katherine Pulaski asked Data if he was qualified to pilot a shuttlecraft , he told her , " " certainly . I had training in auxiliary space vessel s at Starfleet Academy . I received . . . " " , at which point she interrupted and said , " " a more than passing grade , no doubt . " " ( ) Kathryn Janeway would have earned an " A " in her exogenetics course at the Academy had she not missed the question on the topic of nucleotide resonance frequency her senior year . ( ) Tom Paris took a Survival Strategies course at the Academy taught by his father . When Neelix learned of this , he told Tom that he hoped that Tom had a passing grade . Tom told him that he had gotten a " B− " . Neelix said he thought that that was " " not very encouraging . I guess he didn ' t play favorites , huh ? " " ( ) When Curzon Dax first met Jadzia , he described her as " " the quietest , shyest most withdrawn young woman you ' ve ever known . Brilliant . . . top grades . . . and not a clue to what life was about . " " ( ) In late 2370 , Beverly Crusher learned from Admiral Brand that her son ' s Starfleet Academy grades were dropping , and that he was becoming remote and defensive , adding that if he was not careful , he would " wash out . " ( ) Red Squad , which was newly established group of elite cadet s , was described by Nog to Benjamin Sisko as a way of rewarding excellence among the cadet s . In 2372 , Nog wished to join Red Squad , explaining to Sisko that " " I have the grades to qualify but I need to be sponsored by a high - ranking officer . " " ( ) " In an alternate 2404 , Joe confronted Reginald Barclay on the whereabouts of Kathryn Janeway who had traveled back in time to speed up ' s trip home , Barclay tried to avoid the question by telling Joe that he had some " " papers to grade . " " " ( )