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How do you decide whether to flunk a student?, asks Andy.  I write comments on truly terrible exams while I'm grading them to shore me up later when contemplating whether to assign the "F."  For example, I might write a comment such as, "This paper shows no understanding of black-letter law."  I underline the word "no" several times in heavy ink.  I might also write, "This paper truly deserves to fail" or even, "This cannot pass!!!"  At the end of the exam, I look at the total score in relation to the other papers.  I go back and read the paper one more time and ask myself whether I could EVER see a student who wrote this paper serving a client.  I remind myself that a passing grade is my certification, my seal of approval, that the person is capable of one day being a competent lawyer.  Although I always feel that a failing paper is a sign of my failure as a teacher, I remind myself that the student earned the grade and is, in essence, asking me to fail them.  And then I do.

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