I have been an educator now for 30 years. First, within the establishment. Then when I simply couldn't hack that anymore, in the private sector. Lately, online. 

I loved your article. 

I also "suffer" from dyslexia. I have already had to go back and make 6 corrections to this post. They included reverse spellings of letters, double 'e's instead of 't's', commas instead of full-stops/periods. If you scrolled my comments and posts on Steemit; you are sure to find examples, even with all the checking and editing I do. Common ones for me are "form" instead of "from", "ot" instead of "to", "c's" instead of "s", one letter instead of two, for example "comon" instead of "common", running words together, it goes on. I think quicker than I can speak or write. 

The beauty of this so-called disability is that I have empathy for all my students that struggle. But it is this very struggle that makes them great. 

I don't necessarily encourage  students to go through exams unless they want to. I offer them the option, but it is always their choice. 

Here's the thing, and you hit on it beautifully. I teach music. One board's exam pass mark is 65%, merit at 75%, distinstion at 85% + There are nine graded exams in total. An "initial" exam and 8 grades. Grade Six is considered the equivalent of University entry level. 

I had one girl student who never fialed a single exam, but who never scored higher than 68%.  She made it all the way to Grade 8, and I can tell you I am more proud of her than all the students who hit 90% + marks. 

She went on to become a national radio DJ/Presenter. 

Then you have the students that breeze through every exam getting the high marks on natural ability; ntil they hit a brick wall. In my experience it happens to all of them, sometimes quickly at lower grades, sometimes slowly; at Grades 7 or 8 when the going gets tough. Guess what? They usually quit. Why? They simply have no experience nor grasp of the concept of "hard work" . Not their fault of course, but in my experience, the one key determining factor that separates those that achieve and those that quit. 

It is a truism that most heroes go unsung. Thanks for addressing that :)