Personally I am all for increasing the educational standards and requiring prerequisites (math, A+P, and a couple of other things) before allowing people to enter EMT courses.
As always, I think you're giving the EMT certification too much credit. What happens when you increase the standards? More people fail, many whom may seek careers in EMS. Many services are already struggling to find members. Would increasing the course load or passing score have any correlation on the care a patient would receive? Do you think more of what is learned in EMS happens in the classroom and certain standards are not currently being met?
There is a lot more to the level that the current standards are at. There are lots of people with much more experience debating this all the time. Did you see the recent attempt at changing the "Scope of Practice Model"? It was a solid exercise in futility. Politics, consensus, and compromise always play a role. EMS is really a trade, not a profession, like say respiratory therapy.
Another example by Dr. Bledsoe on the new scope of practice:
"Perhaps the biggest disappointment in this document is the fact that there's no mandate for paramedics to hold a degree or for paramedic programs to be college-based. In a sell-out to the big fire departments, certificate programs for paramedics will be allowed. This will allow traveling paramedic programs to continue to crank out graduates and to provide a never-ending supply of eager paramedics willing to work for $8 an hour."
Sorry to say, I've been to the Field Medics forum and most of them are just as clueless about EMS as the next guy. They just complain about it more.
NREMT passing score is 70%, some states certify/license below that, such as 68%.
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How little anatomy is actually taught is troubling, especially given the number of people who seem to struggle with it.
