Is TAKS Too Easy?

Is the TAKS Test too easy? A study claims so:

The study found two national trends that apply in Texas, where the study was based on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in grades three through seven:
State reading tests are easier to pass than state math tests. Texas students pass the reading section of the TAKS more often than the math section, even though Texas students tend to do better on the math SAT, a college entrance exam, than on the verbal section.
Middle school tests are relatively more difficult to pass than tests for elementary grades.

We may be thinking our kids our better off then they are, but at least they are still 'above average' nationally speaking:

And though it raises questions about the difficulty of the TAKS, a separate set of newly released scores shows that Texas students are performing relatively well.

This year's National Assessment of Educational Progress, a reading and math test given in grades four and eight, showed that Texas scores beat the national average when comparing students from the same ethnic groups.

"Texas students seem to be outperforming their peers in most states," said Holly Eaton of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association.

The worry over testing, and the demand for nationalized testing is misplaced, as what really counts is whether the students are learning. Yet you don't need a national test to determine that, as even this study comparing state test shows. What we do need however, is to maintain state-level testing and make sure it is up to a rigorous enough standard to truly test academic progress.