I wholeheartedly agree that this is the real problem with modern public schools. Teachers are forced to teach to a test. Students are judge by those tests. This is an entirely false method of teaching and learning.

What is missing is student input and asking questions that can lead them to the answer. The questions you asked yourself and the answers you pursued on your own is what real education should consist of for students today. Thinking and questioning and curiosity are the tools students need to learn.