You have a much better grip on the important issues concerning standardized testing than I. My wife is German and I live in both the US and the Netherlands. My comment was based on my wifes take on European testing. In Germany, there is a test at a certain age which determines the particular school level that the child will proceed with through the rest of their school career. It's based on their general knowledge and intelligence at that point. A child can be reevaluated and make a change to a different level but it is a rare case. I have my own misgivings about this approach but is does seem to have it's advantages.
Of course testing is normal throughout a German child's education but it is a totally different animal than what we are used to in the states. Cheating does not exist because there is no such thing really. Children are allowed to look at each others work and ask questions during testing. It's not as if there is some terrible disciplinary action hanging over their head if they happen to learn something from other students or even the teacher during the test. It's up to the educator to determine how the child is advancing in the subject matter and deal with their individual needs accordingly. When my wife came to the states, she could not believe that testing seemed so punitive compared to how she was brought up. She teaches here in the state now and takes a different approach based on her experience and is very successful.
I think kids learn to trust by growing up being trusted and not being expected to cheat, lie or intimidate to get ahead. If you take away the punitive mindset from the very beginning of their school life, they don't seem to feel threatened. The US system has taken on a great deal of generational baggage by pushing a system of testing that I don't think is giving children the best advantage in either knowledge or attitude.
As far as France is concerned, I understand they have the lowest levels of reading and math skills in Europe. I don't think their standardized testing is helping much.
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