Courtman - I've had this discussion many times - and agreed with you 100%.
Deal is, however, that the PPL syllabus is 25 dual (daylight), 10 hrs solo (daylight) and ten hour of anything you wish - which can be the skill test and/or the night qualification.
AOPA are not the authoratative voice. The syllabus is a suggestion - but not mandatory.
Read FCL1 instead.