That's what the article said, no how I think things should be.
With my own children, I've never make a fuss about bad grades (which thankfully have been few and far between). I do care about them giving their best effort, and let them know in no uncertain terms.
But I know plenty of parents that are minimally involved but nonetheless demand "good grades" from their kids. Fooling those into believing their kids are raising academic stars would be extremely easy.
That's nowhere near becoming a perfect student and it isn't even high on the scale of parental pressure.