The tragedy is that students who might have become mathematicians and scientists are frustrated and discouraged by a system that is geared towards the dumbest of the dumb. There is no "one size fits all" solution.
I have to agree with you there. Indeed, most maths tests are so routine that anyone capable of typing expressions into Wolfram Alpha could attain very high grades. I advocate the approach in Gerry Leversha's "Crossing the Bridge", which promotes a more articulate, thoughtful way of solving problems.
Only by breaking the public education monopoly, and opening up education to competition will we discover the best processes.
Hmm, that sounds like Darwinian evolution. Unsuccessful curricula die out, and the schools originally teaching them adopt successful curricula and alter them slightly... Sincerely, Adam P. Goucher