Hi Bones,
Your doubts about the integrity of a school that has its own testing officer are true to some extent, but in the opposite direction.
If they have their own testing officer, they can push a no-talent student out the door in the minimum hours, even if he/she is not up to the standard required. (They wouldn't give that person a job, though....... )This improves their statistics, and people might go there because they feel they will pass on the minimas and it will save them money.
But only some schools do this. Go visit them, talk to them. And don't go to a school just because they are the cheapest. In many cases, WYPFIWYG*.
*What you pay for is what you get.