It's pretty rare to get held back in the USA, and it's almost impossible to completely fail high-school if you show up. There's no tests here to qualify for the next grade here. 

I never knew about those exams, it sounds stressful for the students, but I think it is probably better for them. 

Aardvark

AskSN

Is the school system failing today’s students?

If students don’t meet the minimum proficiency level, the school has the autonomy and liberty to hold them back for a year, aka repeat the entire school year. This happens frequently at specific points, like 6th grade (they fail the Pri Sch Leaving Exam), 9th grade (deemed not ready to take the Cambridge GCE O levels), 11th grade (deemed not ready to take the GCE A levels) 