[1] In this episode, Bart Simpson fails four consecutive history exams, and the district psychiatrist recommends he repeat the fourth grade if he cannot pass his next one.

Throughout the summer, several news outlets published stories about the supposed "Bill vs. Bart" rivalry and heavily hyped the first episode of the second season.

Homer and Marge meet with the school psychiatrist, Dr. J. Loren Pryor, who recommends for Bart to repeat the fourth grade.

To buy more time to study, Bart prays to God for a miracle to avoid the next day's test at school.

As Bart prepares to play in the snow, Lisa reveals she overheard him praying and urges him to make good use of his answered prayer.

Bart is so ecstatic when he receives a barely passing grade (D-minus), he runs through Springfield, announcing his success, and even kisses Mrs. Krabappel, much to his eventual disgust.

Over the summer of 1990, Bart was characterized by some parents and conservatives as a poor role model for children because of his rebellious nature.

Lisa's bike ride was cut, replaced by a one-second whiplash pan of Springfield showing other characters, before Homer's car pulls up in the driveway.

During the scene where Bart delivers a speech saying he is "dumb as a post", Silverman wanted to cut quickly from several angles to give a sense of anxiety.

[11] Bart's fantasy where he sees the founding fathers of the United States uses muted colors and variations of red, white and blue.

[14][15][16] Due to the success of the show's first season, Fox decided to switch The Simpsons' time slot hoping it would steal ratings from NBC's "powerhouse" line up, generate more advertising revenue,[17] and lead to higher ratings for Beverly Hills, 90210 and Babes, which would follow the show.

"[8] An ad for the show in TV Guide spoofed this, with Homer attempting to wrestle his son away from clinging for dear life to "The Simpsons" logo, with Bart remarking "I'm not moving to another night just because some network dude says so!"

[10] It aired opposite the fourth episode of the seventh season of The Cosby Show titled "Period of Adjustment", which saw the addition of Erika Alexander to the cast.

[12] Greg Dawson of the Orlando Sentinel wrote he would "bet dollars to plain-cake doughnuts (a Homer pet peeve) that even a fresh Simpsons won't come within five rating points of Cosby, which could get a 30 share in a power blackout.

"[24] Fox executive Peter Chernin said they were hoping to establish a foothold on Thursday night and "if we're really lucky and very fortunate, we're going to come in second place".

[33] It remained in that position until January 1, 1995, when a National Football League playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears achieved a Nielsen Rating of 21.0.

[35] Bart's slapdash book report was on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel Treasure Island, while Martin presents Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.

[2] The scene where everyone in Springfield gathers around the town circle, holds hands and begins singing is a reference to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote, "A cracking opener to the second season – especially memorable for the sequence in which Bart prays for school to be cancelled the following day only to find himself exiled from the ensuing winter wonderland.

"[3] Virginia Mann of The Record felt it was "not as wildly funny as last season's best episodes, [but still] well-done, humorous, and, at times, poignant.

Tom Shales wrote the episode is "not only funny, it's touching" and praised it for the scenes where Bart prays, writing "There are few if any other entertainment shows on television that get into philosophical matters even this deeply.

"[38] Phil Kloer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote "The episode does a good job of emphasizing the importance of studying without getting gooky.

[40] The episode was ranked 31st on Entertainment Weekly's list of "The 100 Greatest Moments in Television", with Bruce Fretts noting it "stands as classic irreverent family TV".