Re:Student passes 3 classes in 4 years, ranks near top half ...
by goldcd on Friday March 05, 2021 @06:16PM
(#26363502)
No - and I'm guessing my misunderstanding is based on "not-being-American".
I'm British and school (at least when I was there)'s purpose was passing a set of exams when you're 16 and then another optionally at 18. There were informal exams throughout, to tack progress.
Occasionally it was suggested a pupil was held back a year (if they were so far behind, they wouldn't benefit from the next year) - but that was pretty extreme.
Normally pupils were just streamed, so they were put in a class of comparable ability the next year. If they did well they might go up, if they didn't they might go down.
If you hit an exam in a low stream, you might get pushed towards an easier exam (with a lower maximum grade available)
Basically you as a pupil, were never in any doubt as to your trajectory.
The school I went to would not let you advance if you failed a subject (with a few exceptions). You failed math? You don't get promoted. No exceptions.
Of course, my school may have had its own set of problems, but this sounds like the opposite extreme.