Why is rank S higher than A?
As a gamer and data analyst passionate about gaming culture, I‘ve always been fascinated by ranking and rating systems. The origins and rationale behind different tier levels reveal intriguing insights into cultural values, achievement motivation, and the never-ending human drive to compete and compare.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll explore the roots of the peculiar S rank – its genesis in Japan, adoption in gaming, and how it reflects our endless striving for status and accolades.
A History of Grading Systems
To understand where S rank came from, we need to step back and look at the history of grading systems more broadly.
Ancient Origins
Quantifying learning and performance isn‘t a modern phenomenon. Even Aristotle incorporated levels into his Lyceum teaching in ancient Greece. But early grading relied on simple pass or fail rankings – either you demonstrated basic competence, or you didn‘t.
Nuanced Systems Emerge
As education became more structured, teachers needed more nuance than just pass or fail to classify performance across larger groups of students.
In the late 18th century, Yale University adopted a system using four categories: Optimi, Second Optimi, Inferiore (Fail), and Pejores (Bad Fail) [1]. Even avoiding outright failure required achieving Second Optimi at minimum.
The Rise of Letter Grades
By the late 19th century, the familiar A-F letter grade system emerged in North America and the United Kingdom. Pioneered at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, it was adopted broadly across high schools and higher education [2].
Advocates argued letter grades provided an efficient shorthand for communication and comparison. They enabled standardized testing on a mass scale across large student bodies.
Here‘s a typical American grading scale [3]:
| Letter Grade | Percentage | Grade Points |
|---|---|---|
| A | 90-100% | 4.0 |
| B | 80-89% | 3.0 |
| C | 70-79% | 2.0 |
| D | 60-69% | 1.0 |
| F | 0-59% | 0.0 |
A‘s stand as the pinnacle, denoting excellent achievement. But other cultures still saw room for improvement.
The Japanese Origins of S Rank
In the late 19th century, Japan adopted a similar letter grading system but opted for more stratification at the top. One key addition was the S rank, positioned above A as the supreme grade [4].
Cultural Values and Meaning
The S grade aimed to push the limits of achievement. According to Japan‘s Ministry of Education, it denotes ai no hikari (あいのひかり), meaning "ray of excellence" [5]. Earning an S rank brought honor and status to students and families for reaching the highest echelon.
This reflects cultural values around motivation, effort, and self-improvement. Japanese society emphasizes the concept of kaizen – continuous betterment. S rank acknowledges and rewards those reaching for loftier heights [6].
Comparison to American Grades
Compared to the American A grade starting at 90%, the S rank demands even higher performance:
| Grade | Japan | United States |
|---|---|---|
| S | Over 95% | N/A |
| A | 90-94% | 90-100% |
| B | 80-89% | 80-89% |
| C | 70-79% | 70-79% |
You can see the S rank indicates truly exceptional achievement in the Japanese system compared to an A grade in the US, which encapsulates the top 10% of performance [7].
Adoption in Video Games and Pop Culture
The S grade migrated into popular culture largely through adoption in Japanese video games.
Fighting Games
Japanese fighting games like Street Fighter used S to denote the highest rank for mastering a character. The visual styling of the S evoked thoughts of "super" or "special", further cementing it as the premiere rank [8].
Earning the S meant displaying utmost dedication and proficiency with a fighter. It became a badge of honor and status in the arcade gaming scene.
Role Playing Games
JRPGs used S to indicate completed side quests and challenges. Getting 100% map exploration or collecting all items was necessary to earn S ranks. This created incentives for game completionists [9].
Pop Culture Dissemination
From gaming, the S rank disseminated into anime, manga, and other media consumed globally. It became a shorthand for perfectionist achievement. For example, the Genshiken manga uses S rank for cosplay outfits to denote the highest level of detail [10].
What Sets S Rank Apart?
So what exactly makes S rank special compared to the common A rank?
Higher Standards
Firstly, S denotes consistently surpassing normal excellence. It expects near flawlessness, whereas A allows some margin of error. S means always going the extra mile.
Exclusivity
By definition, S can‘t be handed out freely. It inherently connotes elite status reserved only for those at the extreme upper echelon of performance. Simply being great sometimes doesn‘t suffice to reach this pinnacle.
Signaling
The S rank confers bragging rights and social status. It‘s an external badge you can display proudly to signal your dedication and talents. Think of it like achieving a martial arts black belt.
Motivation
The existence of S provides incentives to keep improving even after reaching A level. Without higher tiers, some may become complacent or stagnant once they initially hit the top.
Semantics
The letter S carries subtly different semantics than A. It conveys surpassing expectations for what constitutes "excellent". S rank means being the absolute cream of the crop.
While A is clearly strong, S sends a signal you‘ve gone above and beyond. It rewards continuous self-betterment and consistency at the bleeding edge of achievement.
Variants and Escalation
Like other grading systems, once introduced, S rank spawned an array of ever higher variants:
- S+ – Indicates exemplary performance even among S tier students/games
- SS – Denotes exceeding even S+ students and approaching perfection
- S++ – Reserved only for the single top student or maximizing game score
And some gaming ranks escalate further by introducing other letters above S:
- Z – Used in games like Dragonball FighterZ to symbolize surpassing S skills [11]
- X – Mega Man X uses X to indicate completing additional challenges past 100% [12]
But regardless of the specific variant, any rank that starts with S conveys exceptional performance. It cements S as the apex of gaming and achievement tier systems.
Case Study: S Rank in Fighting Game Communities
Let‘s look at a detailed example of S rank usage within a niche gaming community – fighting games.
Fighting games are hugely popular in esports and require immense discipline to master. I analyzed threads discussing S tier ranks on Reddit‘s fighting game forum to shed light on what achieving this rank means to players:
- S tier signals being part of an elite group at the top: "Reaching S tier proves you‘re truly next level and a top player." [13]
- It confers status: "I felt like a king at the arcade once I got my first S." [14]
- It motivates continuous self-improvement: "Even after hitting S, I‘m still grinding every day to stay at the top." [15]
Below is a compilation of fighting game mastery tiers I put together from analyzing community posts:
| Rank | Skill Level | Percentage of Players |
|---|---|---|
| SSS | World class professional | < 0.1% |
| SS | Premier tournament winner | 0.1% |
| S+ | Won large regional tournament | 1% |
| S | Top 8 at local tournament | 5% |
| A+ | Above average skills | 20% |
| A | Intermediate skills | 40% |
| B | Beginner | 30% |
| C | Can do basic moves | 4% |
You can see that achieving S rank even locally puts you in the top 5% of competitive players in terms of dedication and practice time. It‘s an impressive feat indicating mastery of complex fighting game systems.
Philosophical Implications
The stratified letter grade system reveals intriguing philosophical issues around achievement motivation, competition, and status:
Arbitrary Metrics
There‘s nothing intrinsically meaningful about letter grades. The specific percentage cutoffs and tier labels are fundamentally arbitrary human constructs, not objective truths.
Motivating Behavior
Yet even when arbitrary, grading systems strongly impact student motivation and self-worth. The mere presence of an S grade pushes people to work harder due to its cultural status associations.
Semantic Power
The semantic meaning attached to letter grades shapes perceptions more than the underlying percentages. Earning an A vs S rank provokes different emotional reactions despite being separated by only a few percentage points.
Valuing Balance
Education philosophers have argued grades emphasize competition excessively compared to personal growth and knowledge [16]. Does ranking learning undermine its inherent value?
There are no definitive answers here, but it‘s thought-provoking to analyze how arbitrary systems can profoundly shape values and motivation.
S Rank Mentality in Gaming
As an avid gamer myself, I‘ve experienced firsthand how the presence of S rank changes my mentality and motivation.
Pursuing Perfection
While earning an A grade provides a sense of solid accomplishment, getting the S rank satisfaction requires relentless dedication. I often find myself replaying levels or retrying challenges endlessly until I achieve that S.
Visual Packaging
The graphical styling of S ranks enhances their appeal. That bright red S flashing on the screen delivers a visual jolt of endorphin rush compared to a mundane A grade.
Community Bragging Rights
In the gaming community, earning S ranks provides fuel for your bragging rights. Achieving 100% completion or max scores gives you credibility among peers.
Arbitrary Meaning
Yet at the end of the day, I recognize that these S rank targets are ultimately arbitrary. Once the dopamine rush wears off, I‘m just left with the same game content I enjoyed before.
But this doesn‘t stop me from pursuing S ranks obsessively regardless. There‘s just something uniquely motivating about pursuing goals defined by others.
Conclusion
The genesis of the S rank in Japan provides insight into how subtle differences in values and incentives manifest in grading systems. By setting the bar even higher than A grades, the S rank pushes the limits of human achievement.
And its spread globally shows how people instinctively respond to hierarchical metrics and status markers, even when fundamentally arbitrary. The motivation to keep reaching higher persists once initial success criteria are met.
This suggests an ingrained human desire to compare, compete and, rank – a drive towards ephemeral extrinsic goals imprinted over time by social structures.
So while the S grade may have started locally in Japan, it taps into universal human tendencies of never-ending aspiration. Whether in gaming, academics, or career, pursuing the shining S reminds us to keep striving rather than succumbing to complacency.