I don't fully blame the teachers, or really the teachers at all, they're just doing the job as it's been described to them.
So, students wouldn't be able to pass standardized tests if they weren't taught the tests? I reject that idea and that is my problem with the way curriculum are built. I also disagree with colleges having majors that are specific to becoming teachers. I have friends from college that took classes specifically geared to becoming a teacher but they are not particularly intelligent in any field other than highly trained babysitters; Early Childhood Development was one such major for these students. They apply for a job at public schools and just fill in any position in any discipline that has an opening, not really being an expert in anything they are applying for.
I was bored to death through school and basically did no work at all, especially homework and yet I aced all of my tests and scored very highly on the standardized tests. I wasted money by signing up for SAT prep, which I never used and repeated the same for the GRE for grad school. I scored very high on both without studying for either. I just figured, either I'm smart or I'm not. No sense in trying to predict what will be on the test.
I think there are mathematically intelligent people and those students should be fostered in mathematics.
I think there are scientifically inclined people and they should be fostered in science.
There are people that could write a creative novel and they should be encouraged to read and write.
There are people that can create beautiful, meaningful art and we need them.
There are socially aware people and that should be encouraged.
Here's the one that I don't think many agree with me on. There are physically smart people and athletes have a special intelligence to control and shape their body in a way that other people do not have the intelligence or drive to do. Some people's brains do not work in a way that allows them to dodge a ball in gym class yet they can solve complex mathematical issues. Why is it assumed that the mathematical person is more intelligent than the athlete because their brain works in a different way? Instead, we pull dodge ball from gym class to protect the nerd yet force the athletic student to sit through geometry and call them unintelligent when they don't understand it.
The reason I think people don't agree with me on this, and my wife is even one of them, is that they see professional athletes making millions of dollars and do not think that is fair. I say it absolutely is and they are highly intelligent humans adding significant value to our culture and the market. They should be compensated as such, even if they can't solve calculus problems or perform surgery or write novels. They also should have been encouraged in school as physically intelligent students instead of failures at standardized tests.
Of course, this idea isn't specific to athletic students but all different types, which is captured by the cartoon and why I posted it.