Failing is almost inevitable within life, especially in school. Findlay High School, unlike other schools in the surrounding area, offers students the opportunity to retake classes that they had previously failed through a program called Credit Recovery.

CR is offered both physically in school and digitally. This might seem similar to summer school, however the major difference is that the student pays for summer school and can only be taken in the summer, unlike Credit Recovery, which costs nothing, and can be taken anytime.

Taking credit recovery is not uncommon within all grades. With the up-coming freshman many are coming into school with the mindset that they can fail their classes because they are able to retake them.

Getting into Credit Recovery is not at all difficult, which a lot of people bring up as a problem. Credit Recovery is used to get credits needed to graduate after a student fails a core class or one that is needed to meet graduation requirements.

Recently, some students have been taking advantage of this program. Some students believe that Credit Recovery may stand as a cushion and allow a student to feel more inclined to fail on purpose or not try in a class.

“I think that it is not the main cause for students to fail but it supports their decision to give up when they start failing. I think Credit Recovery should be a difficult albeit doable last resort for the failing of a class without an effect on GPA a.k.a if they got an F originally, that’s all they get on their GPA and their record, even if they get an A in their credit recovery class,” sophomore Jackson Jotch said.

The perk of taking a Credit Recovery class is that it helps boost a students’ GPA when they failed the original class. For example, if a student failed the class their cumulative and current GPA goes down, however, retaking the class makes both GPAs go up. Some students believe that this is a problem because it does not give students any form of punishment for originally failing a class. Some students also believe that Credit Recovery is too easy of a way out and too easy of a class in general. Some students believe that credit recovery should be reworked to make it more difficult but still manageable.

“I don’t believe it creates the initiative to fail necessarily. There are still negatives for failing. Kids still lose out on things for failing like sports and other extracurricular activities and field-trips if I’m not mistaken. However, I do agree that they shouldn’t get or receive much credit as they do for taking a regular class,” sophomore Zoie Scott said.

While Credit Recovery helps improve the original GPA and gives students the credits they need for graduation, some still miss a ton of opportunities available at the high school. Some of these opportunities include sports and other extracurricular activities. Keeping grades up is extremely important for students who participate in these activities.

“I don’t know if it would necessarily initiate kids to fail as many parents want their kids to do good in school instead of wasting all of it. Plus, summer school isn’t free,” sophomore Cole Lopez said.

Because summer school is not free, Credit Recovery is a doable option for families who are not able to afford summer school or have the time in the summer. Credit Recovery is easily accessible for students to do without a high price stopping them. Others bring up that students doing badly in class is not necessarily credit recovery’s fault. Of course, parents want their children to pass school with good grades which pushes students to work harder. However, some think without the support of their parents or peers they might not do well compared to other students who have outside support.

“No, I do not think it is encouraging students to fail. But, by making it so easy to recover credit, students have the initiative to pass the class the first time,” history teacher Mr. Schoonover said.

On the other hand, some students and teachers think it does not create the initiative or encourage students to fail their classes on purpose. In fact, because credit recovery is so easy to achieve and without much punishment, some believe students have the choice and initiative to pass the class the first time.

Nobody likes retaking classes or redoing entire school years; however, some students lack the motivation to complete classes or some students just do not care. Whatever the reason is for taking Credit Recovery classes, it is easy to do without little punishment. Some students think it is fair and others not so much. Because Credit Recovery is able to be done without any repercussions students should be able to complete it easily for missing credits. People taking advantage of certain things for people who need it will always occur and is unavoidable.