I don't think you're entirely wrong, there is political pressure behind standardized testing; however, this is largely because the alternative was no trustable

I don't think you're entirely wrong, there is political pressure behind standardized testing; however, this is largely because the alternative was no trustable testing. Making teachers' assesments trustable is politically palatable to teachers while also fulfilling the administrative goals that standardized testing has been asked (and largely failed) to resolve.