The arguments and for and against minimum grading systems have grown increasingly more intense and acrimonious in the past decade. However, there has been an absence of empirical data, theory and clear comparative analyses of conflicting points of view. Critics of minimum grading contend that the practice will produce grade inflation and social…

In an effort to reduce failure and drop-out rates, schools have been implementing minimum grading. One form involves raising catastrophically low student quarter grades to a predetermined minimum--typically a 50. Proponents argue it gives struggling students a reasonable chance to recover from failure. Critics contend the practice induces grade…

Although schools have always struggled with student failure, retention, and attrition, the turn of the new century has produced added pressures for schools to reduce student dropout rates. In the current political and economic environment, increased costs and reduced budgets are forcing difficult choices in how best to spend limited resources.…