Impact of non-passing grades and academic retention on subsequent academic performance in a cohort of pharmacy students

Objective: To determine the effect of nonpassing grades and consequent course repetition on subsequent academic performance, and to consider the implications of these results in setting criteria for grade assignment. Performance of a group of fourth-year (first professional year) pharmacy students who had earned grades of C or below during introductory or foundation modules was examined during subsequent therapeutics courses. Performance of students earning A and B grades was also followed as a control. Methods: Students were classified according to their performance in a series of four introductory, basic science modules. The groups were 'A' students, 'B' students, 'C' students, 'borderline C' 'One-D' students, and 'repeating' students. Borderline C students were defined as those students who had earned a final course percentage of less than 70%, a D grade by a straight scale, but had instead been assigned the letter grade of C. Repeating students were repeating one or more introductory modules after earning at least two Ds or one F the previous year and consequently not progressing. Performance was tracked in a series of five succeeding therapeutic modules. Results: Based on therapeutic module hourly examination scores and final grade assignments, repeating students performed better than other C-or-below students while borderline C students performed the worst. Students earning a D grade in a single module and permitted to progress performed no worse than C students in subsequent modules. Conclusion: Course failure denotes academic weakness, but course failure is associated with subsequent success in therapeutics modules. This study supports the use of more stringent rather than more lenient criteria in grade assignment.