What's more important: getting kids to pass school or getting them to learn?

I wonder about the education system. We pass the good, quiet kids along without pushing them to reach new heights while we pass the quiet kids with weak skills along because we feel bad that it would damage their psyche if we held them back. Perhaps it's time to reconsider the one room school house. Students moved forward when they were ready, not when their age indicated they needed to be at a certain level.

I have senior students in high school who cannot read well. I also receive pressure to get them to pass. At the same time, I was at a faculty meeting where the staff was told that they are not holding the bar high enough. Furthermore, the deans in the school are too focused on the legal parts of their job. As a teacher, I am only interested in the academic portion of my job. So, the deans and I don't see eye-to-eye because of the nature of our jobs.

American education needs a change but I don't think it's going to happen.