Testing is only the tip of the iceberg, and any tester is just looking at a snap shot of what product the flying school manufactures. The issue solely lies with the schools standards, which trickles down from the top. Firstly pay enough to retain talent, pay for a good CP/CFI (or whatever they are called now) who sets the tone and leads by example, have a proper standard of training that all instructors aspire to, have a proper syllabus of training that focuses on basics and builds from there.
You can train a pilot to pass test requirements without that candidate being competent. Or you can train a competent pilot who will easily pass the test as a formality. Unfortunately as of late a lot of schools are more grouped in the first box.