When does a student deserve to fail?

Teachers set their own standards for failure and success in their classroom, but there are two instances where most teachers agree that a student should fail. Those two instances are when assignments are not completed or when the child misses a large percentage of class time not related to a serious issue. A growing number of schools are placing restrictions on a teacher’s ability to fail a student for whatever the reason. In Baltimore, students can’t receive a grade lower than a 50 on their report card. This minimum grade actually helps students. Students can either; (1) not come to class for an entire quarter or (2) come to class everyday and be extremely unproductive, yet they are still in a position to pass the semester or year. The student only needs to make sure that their semester average is above a 60. So if a student decides for a semester to not complete any assignments and they earn a 0, the teacher still has to give them a 50. It’s much more difficult to get that 60 average if you are factoring in a zero as opposed to a 50. What kind of message are we sending our students? In some schools across the country, students are given H’s, for Held, instead of an F to allow the students extra time to correct their poor grades and not ruin their entire semester. In some instances an H would help those students with special circumstances, but I feel that it can lead to other students manipulating the system and continuing to give minimal effort with the knowledge that they will get bailed out at the last moment. Initiatives like these are lowering the standards of our high schools. High schools need to continue to maintain high standards for students and hold them responsible for their actions and behaviors. Students are being coddled today by the educational system and it is not preparing them for experiences like college, joining the workforce, or entering the military. Failing is not acceptable anywhere else, so why is it being accepted and tolerated in our public schools?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518101,00.html.