Agreed on #1. That's a huge, duh?!

Not so much #2...the standardized tests check to see if the kids have learned the basics; reading, writing and arithmetic. Those are the things we need to ensure they're teaching. (My kids used to be nervous for these tests, then I told them that we're not testing them, we're testing the teachers. I told them it would be funny to look at the teacher when they get the test and say, "good luck.")