Failure isn’t an option. Perhaps it should be.

As the 2024–25 school year winds down, students across Pennsylvania are heading into a well-earned summer break. Teachers are closing their gradebooks, administrators are looking ahead to the fall, and lawmakers like myself continue to fight for critical education funding.

But the painful truth is that in classrooms across our commonwealth, students are being promoted year after year despite being nowhere near grade-level proficiency.

You shouldn’t be in eighth grade with a report card full of passing grades — yet reading at a third-grade level. For far too many students in Pennsylvania, that is the reality.

I believe knowledge is power — and data bring insight. Over the next few weeks, school districts will receive scores from the annual state assessments (PSSA) taken by students in grades three through eight. These results tell an important story, not just about individual student performance, but about how our educational system is preparing — or failing to prepare — young people for the future.

Each year, we see a familiar pattern. Many students are thriving. A few are excelling. But many are falling behind. And by “behind,” I don’t mean just struggling to keep up — I mean they are years behind in reading and math, yet still being promoted to the next grade level.

What I am describing is not just a money problem. This is a systemic failure. A crisis of conscience.

An alarming 29% of Pennsylvania’s working-age adults lack basic literacy or numeracy skills. This didn’t happen overnight. It starts with children moving through an education system that overlooks academic gaps instead of addressing them head-on. Some students receive passing grades and diplomas without ever mastering the skills those credentials are supposed to represent.

And let’s be clear: This failure disproportionately impacts students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. State PSSA data from 2024 show that less than 33% of Black and Hispanic students were reading on or ahead of grade level in third through eighth grade in Pennsylvania, with nearly 25% of our Black and Hispanic students performing well below grade level.

Less than 20% of Black and Hispanic students were on or ahead of grade level in mathematics, with 55% of students performing well below grade level.

Our kids are struggling. When we allow social promotion — advancing students based on age rather than academic readiness — we send a message that low expectations are acceptable. That’s not equity. That’s the “soft bigotry of low expectations,” as President George W. Bush put it more than two decades ago.

That is why I introduced House Bill 1535. This legislation would require that no student be promoted more than three grade levels beyond their reading proficiency, or more than four grade levels beyond their math proficiency. If a student is not prepared for the next grade, they should not be moved forward.

I understand the controversy this idea may generate. Student retention is not a decision to be taken lightly. Research shows it can carry risks, such as higher dropout rates if not implemented thoughtfully. That’s why my bill includes important safeguards — such as exceptions for students with diagnosed learning differences, or those who have already been retained.

We also recommend increased investments in summer programs, evidence-based literacy interventions, and family engagement strategies to ensure students get the help they need.

I also acknowledge that emotional and social development is critical. But it’s worth noting that we rarely hesitate to accelerate a child who is gifted far beyond their peers. We celebrate the 12-year-old high schooler or the 16-year-old college freshman. If we’re willing to make those accommodations for students who need to move ahead, we must also be willing to support those who need more time.

I’ve spoken with superintendents, teachers, parents, and community leaders. I’ve heard the concerns, and I’ve also heard the support. Everyone agrees: We need to do better. Our schools need more funding, more tools, and more flexibility — but we also need to hold ourselves and our systems accountable.

We cannot keep pushing students forward who are not ready. Mastery matters. Reading matters. Math matters. And when we look the other way, we fail the very students we claim to be serving.

Our children deserve better. They deserve honesty, high expectations, and the resources to meet them. It’s time to stop accepting mediocrity and start demanding mastery — even if it takes an extra year.

We owe it to our students, their families, and the future of the commonwealth.

Napoleon Nelson (D., Montgomery) represents the 154th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He is chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, vice-chair of the House Communications and Technology Committee, and chair of the Emerging Technologies Caucus.