Thank you for this article. I have much to add to this conversation! As an educator, I have experienced and witnessed the damaging promotional antics in my school's district. I was yelled at by my former principal for having too many students fail my class (the students were either not showing up online, not doing the asignments or both). Teachers have told me that they'll give students a "D" if they come to class and not disrupt. There are two reasons why students who arent ready for the next grade llevel are promoted - 1) their behavior was so bad, teachers and admins just want to get rid of them, and 2) not enough room to retain students who aren't ready for the next grade. And this is how it's been BEFORE the pandemic,. It became even more acceptable during the pandemic. I was under pressure to help as many students pass as possible - regardless if they understoof the material. This practice has been going on for decades, generations of students passed through the system and when they graduate (if they graduate), they struggle in college and career.