Why Faculty "Fail to Fail": A Study of US Dental School Faculty Perceptions About Assigning Failing Ratings and Grades.

US dental faculty acknowledge that failing grades support learning, yet roughly one-third report passing underperforming students within the past year—a pattern driven primarily by institutional culture, assessment limitations, and remediation constraints rather than individual reluctance.

A plain-English summary of the study's own findings — we don't add our own claims or interpretation. Read the full paper for the complete methods and results, and apply your own clinical judgement.