You never want to have people fail their tests.
I don't understand this. Why? Are we so emotionaly damaged that we cannot accept that we didn't perform at the necessary level to grade up? A test shouldn't be so easy that a student passes without work. I am not for setting a student up to fail but I beleive a test should be a test. There should be an opportunity to pass or fail, otherwise it isn't really a test. How a student accepts disappointment is more important than how a student will accept a promotion. So why a student should never fail a test is beyond me. Perhaps you can explain this in more detail.