Under a democratic (or let's say, public-opinion-based) system, who is rewarded for trying to uphold some kind of standards, when it doesn't benefit the majority to do so? I'm just commenting aside from the pandemic-related issues here, on the long progression of anti-testing, anti-standards pressure in the US.

The majority of people aren't happy with having standardized tests because they block kids from feeling they have a shot at the top schools. But of course that's their function -- to sort.

So, public pressure calls for dropping objective measurements so that people feel better about it... but they aren't doing better. And muddying the waters to say that everyone should have an equal shot at going to a top school -- for reasons other than academics and using the resource efficiently. And the kids just stagnate in performance and everyone feels good about it, until you get kicked in the ass by reality and you find other countries who don't care so much about making people feel better are actually passing you by.