What struck me was the Mom’s comment that she thought he was passing because he kept getting promoted to the next level / grade. It sounds like her expectation

What struck me was the Mom’s comment that she thought he was passing because he kept getting promoted to the next level / grade. It sounds like her expectation was that if he was failing, he would of been held back and that would of been the wake up call for both of them. I don’t think that is an unreasonable expectation. That IS what the rule used to be, if you didn’t pass you didn’t move on. The thing is the rules have changed, so the old reliable “signs of trouble” ex. Your child getting held back don’t happen and so the problem gets missed, or the severity of the problem isn’t caught until too late.