My older son, who graduated high school in 2001, was very good on standardized tests.
As a high school freshman he took biology, then took the SAT test in biology. When the scores came home, he had a 770. Wow! (I'm sure you know the highest score is 800). So I told him he needed to phone his biology teacher and thank her. Yes, I know he worked hard, but she clearly had taught him a lot.
Sophomore year he took chemistry, then the chemistry SAT test. When the scores came home, he had a 780. Wow! So I told him he needed to call his chemistry teacher and thank him.
Junior year he took physics, then took the physics SAT test. When we got the scores, he had an 800. My son said, "Oh. There was one question I wasn't sure of. I guess I got it right."
I am also extremely good at standardized tests. For one thing, I'm a fast reader, and I have actually been known to finish tests that you aren't supposed to be able to finish. So I score even higher than whatever my real knowledge/ability/IQ might be. Others, who are essentially every bit as smart as I am, and can probably do things I can't begin to do, don't do so well on these kinds of tests. The problem is that the tests are designed by people like me, who are good at them, and who lack even the minuscule insight that I have that these tests may not be as useful as purported.
Something else to consider: For generations now, Vo-Tech has had a bad name. I don't understand why. In this country we pay lip service to the notion that all young people must go to college. Really? This is exactly why so many young people graduate with unconscionable debt and cannot get a job because, how many jobs are out there for anthropology majors? What we really need are enough plumbers and electricians and car mechanics.
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