It excludes the value of your house, your farm, a small business you own and 529 college savings accounts not controlled by the parent or the student (for example, one controlled by a grandparent).
You must remember that English is not entirely phonetic, so just because astudent knows a word doesn't mean that they can understand it when it is said to them at native speed or pronounce it correctly.
Now, if you promise not to tell anybody, I will let you in on a little secret: I was not always the very best student that I could be when I was in high school, and certainly not when I was in middle school.