You have to remember that the US has to cater to every state in the union, some which have some of the best education in the world and some that have the educat

You have to remember that the US has to cater to every state in the union, some which have some of the best education in the world and some that have the education system of a third world nation. In my state, tests are pretty much exactly how you describe, because we have a relatively good education system. Students who come from our high schools can usually test out of almost a semester's worth of courses when they enter college. In the state one of my friends is from, there's still controversy over teaching evolution and accepted cosmology theories, and many students need to take remedial courses on entering college because their high school education has so many gaps.