These 25 out of 25 students who failed a core coarse in their field had the exam for a month at home. They could have easily gotten help in that time. I am not so sure they lacked the intelligence to actually do this reasonably simple work....
I guess it's hard to say without tutoring them to see how quickly they pick up information, how long they retain it, and how well they can apply the information in new situations.
I've done a reasonable amount of teaching, and it's been eye-opening. What seems reasonably simple (or even trivial) can be
very difficult for some people. I've seen students (adults and kids) pick basic things up with a minimum of instruction on day 1 of a weekly class, while others are still struggling 8 weeks later.
And as a student, I've learned that something that's reasonably simple for others may be beyond me (for example, drawing is beyond my abilities).
I think that part of our education problem is our optimistic national nature. American optimism is often a huge strength, but in this case, it seems to be driving us into believing things that aren't true --- namely that everyone can learn certain things or learn them at certain ages, or that everyone should go to college.
