Are Teachers Allowed To Fail Students
When a student performs poorly, some people frequently blame the teachers. And while it’s the teacher’s role to instruct their students, the parents of the students and the students themselves also have a significant role to contribute to their academic success.
Unfortunately, we often push the blame onto teachers. After all, when a student succeeds, we congratulate them but we blame the teacher for failing them. As a result, you’ll find teachers putting in extra hours to help their students.
Despite their effort, some students may inevitably fail the teacher’s class. In such cases, students and parents sometimes question whether teachers are allowed to fail their students.
Are Teachers Allowed To Fail Students
Teachers teach students and then leverage various forms of assessment. They then grade students’ scripts without any form of bias. In essence, teachers do not fail students as they do not have the power to change a student’s assessment answers.
They simply grade submitted scripts and present the results of the assessment. Whatever grade the students see is earned, not given by the teacher. If the student gets an “A”, it’s not because the teacher gave them the grade but because they earned it.
The same applies to students getting an “F” in an assessment. Teachers do not actively decide to fail students but simply grade the student. Students unsatisfied with their grades or convinced a teacher may have intentionally failed them have the right to follow the due procedure to clarify this.
Keep in mind that teachers don’t just dish out grades to students. They grade students appropriately and provide grades they’ve earned. Keeping in mind that there may be cases where a teacher might pass a failing student.
So, to answer the question of whether teachers are allowed to fail students, we’ll say:
Yes, teachers can only fail students when they’ve earned the corresponding grade. Any teacher who fails a student unfairly would most likely lose their job and possibly their license.
Failing a student is a big deal as parents would want to understand the underlying reason for the decision. Should an ulterior motive be detected by the school and parent, the teacher would most likely lose their jobs and possibly license.
As a result, teachers only fail students when they’ve earned it as anything else would be risking their careers.
Reasons Why Teachers Fail Students
While there’re various reasons why a teacher might fail their student, we’ll be taking a look at the most common reasons.
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Poor Academic Performance
Poor academic performance is the primary cause of students repeating a class. A teacher’s responsibility is to make sure that their students have the appropriate academic preparation, and they use tests, assignments, and other types of assessments to gauge each student’s level of understanding.
If a student doesn’t achieve the specified target on these examinations, they would have to repeat the grade before moving on to a higher grade. Unfortunately, it can be challenging for pupils to recognize the advantages of repeating a grade.
Missing Classes
Teachers work very hard to create lessons that are simple to understand and include examples that can apply to their pupils and their contemporary lives.
When certain students refuse to attend the teacher’s class or regularly miss some courses, it can be rather frustrating. Most teachers would make an effort to figure out why a student kept skipping class.
The student would receive a few warnings if the teacher didn’t obtain a valid excuse for the behavior. Unfortunately, students who often miss class are likely to perform below expectations, which could result in the teacher failing them.
Missing Academic Work
Education goes hand in hand with assessment and teachers employ numerous techniques for evaluation. Even though exams may account for a portion of the overall evaluation, teachers also use other forms of assessment, such as assignments and other activities.
Even if they do well on their final exams, students who overlook these could receive lower grades. In certain situations, the teacher can end up failing the student.
Behavior Problems
Teachers are responsible for educating their students to get them ready for life after school. Unfortunately, some misbehaving students will go out of their way to make the teacher’s job more challenging.
These students have a history of being blatantly disruptive in class and disrespectful to professors. In such cases, the teacher is less likely to bump up the student’s grade even when an extra 0.5 points could mean the difference between passing and failing.
Breach Of Academic Integrity Policies
Institutions of higher learning take any problems with academic integrity very seriously. They require their students to be truthful in their academic work, and those who are detected plagiarizing face severe consequences.
Penalties can range from the cancellation of a paper to expulsion from the institution. The grade would be repeated for students whose papers are ultimately canceled. In most instances, though, this punishment might be on the milder side.
Is It Illegal To Purposely Fail A Student
While it’s not illegal, it’s unprofessional and unethical for a teacher to fail a student without a good reason. The teacher could lose their job and possibly lose their license for failing a student without justification.
It’s important to note that a teacher’s decision to fail a student may extend beyond a single test because their overall evaluation of their students may be influenced by the student’s conduct or disrespect, missed assignments, missed classes, plagiarism, and other factors.
Whatever the teacher’s reason for purposely failing a student, they’d need to justify their decision to the student’s parents.
Can A Professor Fail An Entire Class
It is conceivable for a professor to fail a whole class, albeit this may depend on the course requirements and expectations, the professor’s status, or an incident with the class.
Overturning the professor’s decision may be challenging especially in the case of tenured professors. Without the necessary qualification in the professor’s specific field, the administrators may be unable to adequately judge the professor’s decision in such instances.
Can A Professor Fail You For Missing Class
Each educational institution has its own policies on class attendance or would leave this to the professor. In this case, professors get to determine the level of absenteeism that is considered acceptable in their classes.
Should they deem a student’s level of absenteeism from class to be higher than the outlined, they can apply the appropriate punishment, which could include failing the student.
That said, professors who implement such policies are usually required to state in writing and explain to their students their expectations regarding both class attendance and makeup work due to all absences.
Students who have prior knowledge that they will miss certain classes are required to submit any justification to their professor in advance. So, to answer the question, we’ll say:
Yes, a professor can fail students for excessive absence depending on the outlined academic requirements implemented by the professor or the educational institution.
It’s advisable to acquire and review the school, department, or professor’s guidelines on absenteeism to avoid breaching them. Keep in mind that while some professors would ignore absenteeism, others take it seriously.
Students identified to be in breach of these regulations may simply be left at the mercy of the professor.
