Are schools accountable enough?

An article in today's DNR indicates that my boss, Dr. Ford, is seeking to relax state accountability standards this year due to the effects of budget cutting. With DNR stories, you never know how accurate the reporting is, but I thought this quote from Dr. Ford was thought-provoking: ""You can't cut millions and millions, and in the state's case billions, of dollars and not expect that there are going to be some significant changes in the quality of programs."

I tell ya, my problem with most of what passes for "accountability" in schools is just silly. It's based on poorly-constructed tests of arbitrary content that measures every student by the same stick, regardless of their language level, special education needs, and background knowledge. They don't measure progress, and they don't tell you much about the quality of instruction during that school year.

Have you ever had a formal assessment that you felt fairly measured you? Think about your professional licensure testing, your SATs or ACTs, DMV tests, tests you took in school...what are the features of useful tests versus features of tests which can be easily "gamed"? Sharpen your number 2 pencils and share your thoughts below. Your response may be short answer or essay.