Your view of how this works wouldn't be all bad. However, the original article was talking about standardized testing modeled after the test used in primary an

Your view of how this works wouldn't be all bad. However, the original article was talking about standardized testing modeled after the test used in primary and secondary schools. This includes the government setting minimal, uniform standards, and has often led to cutting "advanced" or "peripheral" material to concentrate on teaching "fundamentals" (i.e. the stuff that bores the smart kids to tears). Schools that don't pull resources from other areas to concentrate on teaching to the test may see their funding cut, because their students don't do well enough on the tests. When you talk about the positives of having standard tests, be careful what you wish for, because what shows up may not be what you had in mind.