[threatofrain]

The institution which is passing children through is not corrupt, it is serving the will and moral character of the people. It has not departed from its mission to do the best it can.

The people don't want the slightest fluctuation of whatever complex story surrounds the issue to means a chunk of children fail. In contrast parents would rather as much record fuzziness as possible if it means giving children a 2nd or 100th chance (putting aside the dooming issue that bad tests mean funding cuts).

So I think you'll find that it's not just that records are fuzzy in school, padded up by participation and homework and extra credit, it's that you'll likely be able to predict which regions are fuzzier than others in record keeping.