Seriously, I do think we should have testing to measure progress of education. While it technically makes sense that learning English is not needed, you can say that about ANY subject really. I mean come on, math? Do you REALLY need to know it nowadays? Everyone has a calculator on their phone and can easily do tips or divide to figure out who owes what. Science? Who the hell cares what genus an oyster is? History.. it happened, get over it.
So when you start questioning about learning English in the first place, you really are questioning on whether we should learn anything other than the basics of living. If people wanna know more, then so be it, there's books, internet, etc., but why should we be forced to learn most of the crap we learned in middle/high school that we never use for the rest of our lives?
RIGHT!
When I was a kid all I ever wanted to know about was how to be a writer -- A subject I was never really taught. I was told there was plenty of time to learn that in college if I were ever smart enough to get there.
When I was interested in more advanced math I was told I was too young to know about such things. And was punished for using decimal fractions when other kids were doing regular fractions.
When I was in school a kid was punished for wasting his school time drawing pictures instead of studying.
When my wife was a girl all she wanted to learn was cooking. Fortunately for her they still taught home ec classes. Now they dropped those because of the budget cuts. So some future Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, or Paul Prudhomme is out there suffering through school waiting for his/her chance to master the art of cooking.
When my wife was in school there was a real trouble maker who fought with the teachers every day -- Why? Because the ONLY thing he wanted to do was to drive cat. The only thing he ever learned in school was to hate education and to hate teachers. To see the schools as a prison. When he escaped he earned a good living doing the one thing he loved. Drive cat.
So let me state what I think SHOULD be DONE in school.
Each child should be encouraged to find that which interests and excites them. Then they should be schooled in that including those things appertaining to it. For example you do not need to know trigonometry to cook but you do need to know proportions, buying, pricing, and how to read a recipe.
If they outgrow that subject and want to change to another or want to add a subject, then do so. Thus the student will be allowed to grow and change in their own way.
As for those children who have not found something to interest them, then yes some form of standard curriculum would probably be best.
I would suggest the history of freedom, the history of math, the history of language, the history of science and technology, dancing and tumbling, art and music, and how to share your toys.