Learn Farsi: او رتبه‌ی اعلی گرفت، پس احسنِ دانشجویان است. - She received the supreme rank, so she is the most excellent of students.

احسن (ahsan) follows the 'af'al' pattern perfectly using the root H-S-N (meaning good or beautiful), making it mean 'best' or 'most excellent.' اعلی (a'lā) is also an 'af'al' word meaning 'highest' or 'supreme' (related to the common word عالی). Because its Arabic root ends in a weak letter, it takes a slightly modified shape and is spelled with an alef maqsurah (ی) at the end, which is pronounced as a long 'a'.

Why doesn't احسن have a Persian superlative ending like -tarin, and how does it connect to the next word?

Because احسن is an Arabic elative, it inherently contains a superlative meaning and does not need a Persian suffix like -tarin. When you link an elative directly to a plural noun using an ezafe, as seen in احسنِ دانشجویان (ahsan-e dāneshjūyān), it creates a formal 'the most [adjective] of [noun]s' structure, which translates to 'the most excellent of students'.

Usually, Persian superlatives (like بهترین) come before the noun. Why does اعلی come after رتبه (rank)?

When Arabic elatives are used simply to describe a single noun as a high-degree adjective (rather than explicitly comparing it to a group), they act like standard Persian adjectives and follow the noun with an ezafe. Therefore, رتبه‌ی اعلی simply means 'the supreme rank'. In the second half of the sentence, احسن is acting as a true superlative comparing her to all the students, which is why it uses a different grammatical structure.

Is گرفتن (to take/get) the standard verb to use with academic ranks or grades?

Yes, the verb is the most natural, everyday choice to pair with words like (rank) or (grade/score) when talking about achieving them. A more formal alternative you will often encounter in writing or news at the B2 level is (to acquire or earn).