What causes the "false need" for the PSSA?

In a perfect world, the teachers would instruct students to the best of their ability, the students would receive the information and learn easily, the parents would be involved enough to help and support their child's educational process, and the government and school boards would provide enough money for a "free and appropriate education" for all children. If these conditions existed, the PSSA would be nonexistent. As we all know, none of the above always occurs in schools across our nation. Sometimes teachers are incompetent and that incompetency is protected by other teachers and the union. Children have different learning needs and styles. All too often, parents are uneducated or careless when it comes to their children's educational needs. School boards claim they have no money, yet the funding of sports is often a priority in many districts. Governments, for many reasons, must put regulations in place, but neglect to give the money necessary for schools to follow through with those regulations. Some would say that the PSSA is a method of forcing school districts to address all these issues that impede learning. I say that the PSSA is a coercive way of forcing school districts to obtain a false sense of student proficiency instead of correcting some of the reasons that we have an inadequate educational system that will force our nation into an uncompetitive position in the world. (according to some anyway) I look forward to discussing these issues in blogs to come.