> We tried fighting this but the inertia of “do nothing and pass anyway” was too great.

It's because there's no story for what to do in this case. All schools, even good ones, only focus on the happy path. I mean you're basically describing the problem perfectly when you moved your kid to a private school. They're not getting a more personalized education, the expectations are just higher. School is still a train that keeps moving whether you're at the level or not.