Make the grade

Near-synonym: fit the bill

In 1916 the famed Van Sweringen brothers bought their first railroad—the Nickel Plate. . . . This year, as usual, the tarnished Nickel Plate cannot make the grade. In first seven months it lost $2,003,779.

I read the news today, oh boy About a lucky man who made the grade And though the news was rather sad Well, I just had to laugh

In the end, only eight plucky contestants made the grade.