What's it going to take?

What's it going to take for American think-tanks to realize that this testing craze isn't going to solve the problems facing education in public schools.  In Finland, teachers are highly respected, and it's a job which only Finland's highest achievers are qualified for.  They still require a master's degree, and I don't think that's going to change, whereas in the United States funding is struggling so much that in Ohio they are trying to get teachers to be less qualified so that they can be paid less. This information is available in this article:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html

Why is it that instead of encouraging one on one relationships with struggling students in order to tutor them into a successful career in education, we want to punish teachers because they have students that are struggling?  And then shut down a school, because it's struggling?  Shouldn't those students and schools get extra help?  “If you only measure the statistics, you miss the human aspect.” It's so true, we're not raising a generation of robots and calculators, these are children who need help!  The policy makers and think-tanks seem to think that if we could replace teachers with robots and mandated standardized tests, that we would be number one.  They seem to think that it's sheer laziness that is causing problems, instead of outdated methods and poor incentives.  I was pained to hear my boss tell me that we're moving in the right direction with merit pay, because too many tenured slobs have been banking on taxpayer money for too long. 

I was literally shocked to read this statement, "There are no mandated standardized tests in Finland, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school."And they are doing fantastic across the board!  So what's it going to take to make this clear to the powers that be?  I don't know, but I hope it happens soon.