- It has been over 25 years and we have seen that it is a problem year after year, but no politician dares to touch it.

If you propose to remove grades, you risk claims from opponents that you are for a flum school, says Jörgen Tholin who is a researcher in pedagogy at the University of Gothenburg.

He talks about the grade failed, which was introduced at the end of the 20th century and which, among other things, aimed to motivate Sweden's students to perform better.

Unlike the old grading system that admitted more or less everyone to high school, the new grading model has removed that opportunity from thousands of students.

Sweden stands out

Figures from the National Agency for Education show that around 16,000 ninth-graders, ie 15 per cent of all pupils, finish compulsory school with a failure in one or more core subjects each year.

- The corresponding average within the EU is around four to five percent, says Per Kornhall, author and former expert at the National Agency for Education.

The fact that we reject so many pupils in compulsory school, which is compulsory according to compulsory schooling, the researchers believe is a great failure in Swedish school policy that has serious consequences for both individuals and society.

Studies show an increased risk of unemployment and ill health, which in rare cases can lead to premature death.

- Those who have failed grades in ninth grade have a higher risk of dying in suicide or drug use.

So finishing ninth with good grades seems to be an indicator of how things are going for the rest of your life, says Sven Bremberg who is a researcher in social medicine at Karolinska Institutet.

Students must dare to fail

Several Swedish school researchers agree.

The failed grade should be abolished in compulsory school.

It would increase the space for the learning process, reduce stress and get more students to enter high school.

- We want students who dare to fail, move on and try again and again.

Therefore, it is important that we do not sum up their achievements by taking decisive tests too early, says Alli Klapp, assessment researcher at the University of Gothenburg.

Play the clip to hear school researchers explain why the fail grade should be removed.

See more about school research in The Swedish school experiment in the world of science on Monday 16 May at 20:00 in SVT2 or on SVTPlay.