In my area of the USA what you described would be called preschool which, yes, you can fail. My sibling was held back because they were shy. Here kindergarten is more structured learning like any other grade.
In Britain we have “reception” (when you’re aged 4-5) which is the first year of primary school, and I assumed equivalent to your kindergarten. I don’t recall there being much formal education in the same way as there is for the rest of school, but it was definitely more structured than preschool/nursery/playgroup that you’d go to beforehand.
In my area of the USA what you described would be called preschool which, yes, you can fail. My sibling was held back because they were shy. Here kindergarten is more structured learning like any other grade.
In Britain we have “reception” (when you’re aged 4-5) which is the first year of primary school, and I assumed equivalent to your kindergarten. I don’t recall there being much formal education in the same way as there is for the rest of school, but it was definitely more structured than preschool/nursery/playgroup that you’d go to beforehand.