City Schools ELA teacher here. Not proficient doesn’t necessarily mean that the student is failing math class, grades are entirely separate from state exams. I have many students who pass with D’s but would not necessarily test proficiently on a state test.

I teach freshman English and the majority of my students come to me reading at 5th grade level or below (some far below). Sure, there’s an argument that they should be failed and repeat the course until they read proficiently on grade level, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.