Not everyone really needs to be great. The person who learns coding to scratch an itch like creating a small website for their family business just needs to know how to put their ideas on a screen.

But these initiatives that try to promise high paying jobs to everyone who applies, it's just not going to work out for everyone who goes through the mill. And yeah, I think to have a long career as a software developer, you need a little more than "meets expectations." You need the drive to improve and grow after you leave the program and even once you land your job. So, I think when you get a newbie who has passion, is personable, and who submits themselves to iterative improvement, I really do think that makes a great developer.