Should schools be allowed to pass marginal students?

Despite questionable grades, attendance rates, and/or test scores, some schools will still promote students to the next grade level or allow them to graduate. Samuel G. Freedman, in the New York Times, recently described former high school math teacher Austin Lampros as “the rare teacher willing to speak on the record about the pressures from administrators to pass marginal students.”

Some educators, like Lampros, argue that no exceptions should be made for students who legitimately fail a required course, while others say holding students back a year can be even more detrimental to their education than moving them on. Should teachers and administrators be able to give borderline students the benefit of the doubt, or do these kinds of practices undermine an institution’s integrity? Tell us what you think.