Nobody writes essays for work, they write emails, they do presentations, they do articles, but they don't do essays. Again don't teach students how to write essays, its fucking stupid. Instead teach them how to make them be confident on stage, and not send the audience asleep as soon as they open their mouth [as well as how to communicate via text including emails effectively].
No "standardized testing" should be done whatsoever. Good workplaces don't give you tests and then make you feel like shit if you do bad, they teach you if you are lacking.
For us English is compulsory for VCE/HSC. Doesn't help when instead of reading a book of your choice, you have to read some boring book chosen by a bookworm who would find it just as interesting to watch grass dry. Imagine what the difference in student attention span would be if lets say, students were allowed to read Harry Potter? But no, it has to be standardized so everyone has to read some boring book.