Should Schools Let Students Fail? What the Research Says
The phrase “let students fail” can mean very different things. Research supports giving students manageable challenges, useful feedback, and chances to revise. It does not establish preventable course failure or grade retention as a strategy for improving schools.
This narrative literature review examines productive struggle, feedback and mastery, high school course failure, and grade retention. It offers practical implications for educators who want to maintain meaningful standards while helping students recover from setbacks.
