The price of openness is that it is expensive to construct multiple, equatable performance exams, which has to be done if old tests are released to the public. Yet every year France releases the Baccalaureat exams taken by secondary school seniors, which are all essays. What it takes is a financial commitment by the state. A related concern has to do with personal privacy and the kinds of questions asked on exams. The California reading and writing assessments often ask students to explain how they think or feel in response to an emotionally intense story.
Some questions ask for discussions about family members or personal experiences.
Conservatives are not the only people to have concerns about the nature and extent of these kinds of questions. Some research suggests that items which provoke intense emotional responses may undermine a test-taker's ability to do well on the rest of the exam. However, if one wants students to write well, it is likely they need to write on topics that interest them. Selecting topics related to family or immediate concerns of the age-group taking the test is one way to do this. Unfortunately, such topics may anger sectors of the community or distract some test-takers.