A bombshell report published Wednesday has revealed that teachers in the Democratic utopia of Philadelphia are being pressured into passing failing students.
Citing interviews with two dozen local teachers, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that “it is nearly impossible to fail a student” because of massive pressure from district officials and school administrators.
“There’s a bunch of kids in my class that have F’s in reading, and I’m probably going to pass them — I’ll bump it up to a D and call it a day,” one K-8 teacher told the Inquirer. “I don’t know of anyone who’s been able to keep anyone back, and we’re just setting kids up for failure.”
“‘I’LL BUMP IT UP TO A D AND CALL IT A DAY’” — Philadelphia Inquirer
By @newskag@phillydotcom — Wednesday 10 June 🗞️
The story uses anonymous teacher testimonies to highlight a discrepancy between official school district grading policies and the practical pressure to avoid… pic.twitter.com/GFXQcQp7Ug
— Paperboy (@frontpagestoday) June 10, 2026
The Inquirer notes that “on paper,” teachers can technically fail students. But in reality, it’s deeply “discouraged” or even outright “forbidden” by principals and other higher-up officials.
The unnamed K-8 teacher said things weren’t always like this, but changed as pressure increased to show improvements in schooling.
“When the pressure was on the schools to show promotions and graduation rates, and the district was so focused on showing data, it shifted grading, and now it’s a joke,” the teacher said.
The big change happened in 2017, when the district reduced the grading floor to 50 out of 100 and decreed that a student can score a D with a 60 percent grade versus a 64 percent grade.
The K-8 teacher also works in the service industry and said that the results of allowing anybody to pass can be seen in the field.
“We see people who don’t come to work on time, they can’t take orders, they can’t use a computer or figure things out, and this is why,” they said. “They’re not being held to standards for all their years in schools.”
Part of the problem is a policy mandating that teachers bend over backwards to try to help students who are performing poorly by, as an example, “contacting guardians, giving extra time for work, breaking down assignments, allowing extra credit, or extending deadlines.”
“Who has time to do that when you have 30 other kids?” a second teacher asked. “And the system is inherently causing laziness from teachers also, to just shut up, pass them, and you don’t get grief.”
A third teacher revealed that so-called “grade inflation,” as they call it, usually comes at the end of the year, when administrators and other officials start pressuring teachers, asking them, “Is there anything you can do to bump these up?”
Why such pressure? To make the city look good. And unfortunately, it’s working.
“The district has posted academic improvement over the last several years. … The district’s four-year graduation rate has also risen. In 2024-25, it was up to 84%, from 69% in 2014-15,” according to the Inquirer.
But it appears to be predicated on bogus stats.
In a decade, Philly’s graduation rate jumped from 69% ➡️ 84%
Dozens of teachers say it’s b/c admin forces them to pass failing students:
“There’s a bunch of kids in my class that have F’s in reading & I’m probably going to pass them — I’ll bump it up to a D and call it a day” pic.twitter.com/cUvkuz3HbV
— Neetu Arnold (@neetu_arnold) June 10, 2026
“There’s all this pressure from the district to increase the graduation rate — there are so many layers to it,” the third teacher said. “I know that it happens in a lot of places. It’s not just our school. But this year, it was huge margins and huge numbers.”
Oh, but it gets worse. There have even been reports of administrators jumping in and changing students’ grades on their own without even letting the actual teachers know. The third teacher cited an example where a student’s score just shot up out of nowhere.
“This student had a 50 yesterday,” the teacher said. “How did he have an 82 today? This was a student who didn’t turn in any additional work and missed 63 of 84 classes.”
It’s all part of a cycle wherein Democrats spike everybody’s taxes and then waste that money on propping up failing public schools where students can’t even perform basic math or writing, yet graduate anyway.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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