Comment by serf
something still changed; i've been in classes where the bulk of the students got bad grades and that never stopped the instructor from handing them out.
if we use grades as a yardstick for elementary progress and efficacy then you'd think it would be a bigger deal if a single cog in the system decided to systematically add inaccuracy to the measure simply because a failing student irks them.
You have the principal actors reversed. Teachers would generally love to fail more students. It is the administration that prevents or disincentivizes it.
Grades are a yardstick merely for which district gets more prestige and funding. There is absolutely no incentive for anyone with authority to fail bad students. Reprimands or terminations result from a teacher giving consistently below average grades.