> all testing should be done by accredited third party groups. These 'accredited third party groups' would need to be a) accredited, b) be paid. And it's alrea

> all testing should be done by accredited third party groups. These 'accredited third party groups' would need to be a) accredited, b) be paid. And it's already happening here in the US[0]. What you have now is an overhead of bureaucracy that 'accredits' and outsources the testing to these private companies, who pay call center wages to mark high school exams based on shoddy metrics that are aimed at maximising profits. All the markers are temps/contract, and this accreditation system is essentially a cartel of companies that lobby to ensure their business remains. I cannot see the logic how this can end up benefiting the students. Secondly, teachers being underpaid is not a mantra - it is a fact [1]. In the US, the worth society places on a job is strongly correlated to the pay. The accreditation and pay, resources and social respect that teachers (do not) receive I wager is directly correlated with the quality of the education students receive. The system is so broken as to rely on standardized testing as to further punish 'under-performing' schools by limiting availability to funding based on scores. [0] http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/07/why-poor-schools-cant-win-at-standardized-testing/374287/ http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/07/why-poor... [1] http://www.nea.org/home/2012-2013-average-starting-teacher-salary.html http://www.nea.org/home/2012-2013-average-starting-teacher-s...