Imagine you are the parent of a struggling first grader. Perhaps there is a learning disability, or a psychological condition that blocks the learning process. Now imagine you design a plan for your child’s school years, “guaranteeing” success by requiring incremental increases in GPA, culminating in a 100% average for senior year.

Any year your child’s GPA doesn’t increase by at least 5 percentage points would result in heavy sanctions: loss of specific privileges your child covets. If your child starts with a D average in 1sst grade, moving to a D+ and later a low C and  C+ might seem like a cinch. But as your child approaches the higher grades and courses that might be harder in content, an increased GPA might be problematic.