A great post here by Carolyn Heinrich of the University of Texas.
She explains that Texas spends more than any other state in the nation on testing, but is seeing no returns on its heavy investment.
The cost is not just in dollars, but in the amount of time that students spend preparing for tests and taking tests, not to mention the distortion of the purpose and content of education.
This is a great analysis of how a well-meaning state can make disastrous decisions that hurt the quality of education.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Speaking of Texas…. http://news.yahoo.com/video/student-suspended-tweeting-photo-yolo-211047842.html
I usually don’t like to label entire states as ‘well-meaning’ or not, but that is not the point.
Texas has quite a few people who can look into a camera and appear to be well-meaning, come up with a rationale for what they are doing and then convince you to spend money for things nobody needs. Snake oil salesmen or testing executives, it is all the same.
I’m excited about by HB 44, scheduled for public hearing on April 9th in the TX Leg. “relating to a temporary moratorium on administering assessment instruments to public school students under the public school accountability system”. The district would be able to apply funds identified as SAVINGS from expenditures that would otherwise be required for assessment instruments to 1) retention of teachers 2) consumable resources for classroom instruction. The amount of state funding a district receives would not be contingent on a district’s decision concerning administration of assessment instruments for SY’s 13-14 and 14-15. If this bill passed, it would take a bold and courageous school district to suspend assessments. However, we could learn much from it and be role models to others districts wishing to reestablish their local control.