If the tests are too easy, the results will be meaningless. Too much test preparation may stifle good teaching. Some teachers or principals may encourage cheating to protect their jobs or advance their careers. And tests are misleading for some students, who don't test well even though they're learning. It condones poor performance.
Politicians try to straddle the conflicting pressures.
Even in Texas, poor schools face only a vague threat of being taken over by the state. This rarely happens. Bush would continue this approach. Under his plan, states would set their own standards. A glaring omission from Bush's plan is a test for high school students.