---
title: "dbt tests that are failing | Metacenta"
description: "A failing dbt test means the project's own assertion about its data is false. What we read from run_results.json, and why leaving it failing costs more."
url: "https://metacenta.com/rules/test-failing"
updated: "2026-10-14"
tokens: 491
---

Execution health · rule test-failing

# dbt tests that are failing

A Metacenta review checks this under the rule **Declared tests pass**. Everything below applies whether or not you ever commission one.

## What this rule checks

From the results of your last dbt run or build, this rule flags every data test that failed or errored. It names how many rows failed, where dbt recorded that.

## Why it matters

The project asserts something is true of its data, and it is not. Anything downstream is being served from data the project itself says is wrong. A test left failing also teaches the team to ignore the suite.

## How to fix it

**Fix or retire the tests that are currently failing.** Fix the data, or retire the assertion if it no longer describes what the model should be. Do not leave it failing: a permanently red test hides the next real failure.

## When it is fine to leave

A test deliberately set to `severity: warn` is a signal, not a breach, and dbt records it as a warning rather than a failure. A test that fails on a known, dated issue with a fix in progress is a decision, if it is written down.

## What we need to check it

`run_results.json` from a `dbt test` or `dbt build`, alongside `manifest.json`. When the run reached no verdict on any test, the rule declines rather than report a pass.

[Ask about a review](https://metacenta.com/enquire?src=rule-test-failing&via=md)

## Related pages

- [dbt models that failed to build](https://metacenta.com/rules/node-build-error)
- [dbt models skipped behind a failure](https://metacenta.com/rules/run-blocked-cascade)
- [dbt table models dominating build time](https://metacenta.com/rules/run-slow-full-rebuild)
- [dbt tests slower than the model they test](https://metacenta.com/rules/run-slow-test)
- [A sample review, as a client reads it](https://metacenta.com/sample)
- [All published rules](https://metacenta.com/rules)
- [How a review is assessed](https://metacenta.com/standard)