If I'm following this analogy properly it sounds like your wife is telling people what to do but not the why. The good grades types got their grades by followin

If I'm following this analogy properly it sounds like your wife is telling people what to do but not the why. The good grades types got their grades by following instructions and not questioning authority and generally staying out of trouble. The bad grades people aren't necessarily stupider, but they spent a lot more time on non-academic activities (sex, drugs and whatever replaced rock'n'roll), and avoid anything that seems like pointless busy work. They will look for shortcuts and skipping certain steps is part of probing the system to see what's really necessary and what isn't. It could even be the case that your wife is circumventing their learning process by catching missed steps early, before they can discover the why.