Should we administer EOC III STAAR in Texas

Today, a client contacted me to see what the benefits were for administering the STAAR End of Course Assessment for English III. Currently, the EOC III for English and the EOC for Algebra II are not required for graduation. They can be offered at the discretion of the school. 

I tried to "google" this and see what others are saying, but there's nothing out there. Here are my thoughts and thinly veiled opinions. These do not reflect the opinions of anyone I work for, but lots of people I know:

1. If one student takes the EOC, ALL students have to take it. ALL: SPED, 504, ESL. If it breathes and is enrolled, it takes ANOTHER test. School schedules and teaching duties will be altered for another day of assessment. (And possible retakes into eternity. We are still giving TAKS, people.) 

2. It does not benefit the school. EOC III and ALG II cannot be used for any kind of accountability. Test administration and preparation requires copious amounts of time before, during, and after administration. Test results are available for these assessments, but do not impact instruction, curriculum, or scheduling considerations for the next courses. 

3. It does not benefit students unless they fit certain criteria.

     a. Most colleges are looking for ACT and SAT to provide entrance criteria for college readiness. These colleges will accept Final Recommended Level II Performance Criteria on EOC II. Kids who are doing well won't benefit from -DON’T NEED - an additional test. 

     b. I wonder if people are thinking that the EOC III could be a good "free" substitute for students in place of the ACT/SAT. That's the only benefit that I can see. Yet, most colleges have entrance exams they can give students who don't take or don't meet the requirements of ACT/SAT/STAAR. (And students that don't meet these requirements probably genuinely need the remedial coursework.) 

     c. Most students can get what they need for college readiness by making level II performance on a test they already took as required: EOC II. 

     d. For kids who struggle, it's easier to meet the requirements in another fashion, and probably is better preparation for real life. They can: 

         Take a coherent sequence of CTE courses

         Take 2 or more dual credit, AP, or IB courses

         Take the SAT or ACT

 4. Kids who struggle meeting college readiness requirements often struggle with BOTH English and Math.

    a. These kids will probably have to take TWO more tests: Kids who are having trouble meeting college and career requirements from EOC II and/or SAT/ACT will have to PASS the EOC III AND meet the requirements for Algebra II if they have not met final level II recommended performance on Algebra I AND final level II recommended performance on EOC II. 

    b. Again, this means that Juniors who already struggle (probably with both reading and math) will have and pass TWO ADDITIONAL EOC's for which they ALREADY struggled to pass the PREVIOUS Sophomore level test requirements.

5. Kids who struggle meeting college readiness requirements for only ONE subject such as English, will have to take ANOTHER assessment at an increased level of difficulty and complexity AND pass it.  (Think retakes for yet another test.)

My question is WHY would you WANT to have ALL kids in Junior English take this test? I think we need to hear from the other side of the argument. What is the benefit that people are thinking that we should consider in light of these facts?