Why am i a good student, but a bad employee?

i know i'm not dumb. i did very well in school - i always ranked in the top 10% of my class in every subject. i enjoy studying and reading textbooks. most courses accurately align the level of difficulty based on your level of experience.

in the workplace, i feel like i always end up in jobs with unrealistic expectations. most managers are not effective, and often times i am expected to complete highly advanced work that seems like it should be done by somebody with way more experience than i have.

even during some of my co-op terms, sometimes i felt like the managers were looking for a young prodigy who would magically churn out high value work, even though i had no experience. one time i was supposed to be working on a project with another employee (who had 10+ years of experience), and he put no effort into it because he didn't care. i was thrown under the bus for failing to deliver results, and i was criticized for not taking a lead role. it's strange because originally the experienced guy was supposed to lead the project, and i simply volunteered to provide him with assistance because i wanted to learn some things. how is it fair to expect the student with no experience to lead this project? shouldn't the guy with decades of experience be leading the project? i think the manager just didn't like me personally and was looking for an excuse to give me a negative review.

some jobs i've held were decent, but it seems like it's not the norm. most jobs and managers are crap. i wish i could just be in school my whole life.