[simonh]

It's not about passing the test though, it's about sorting out who gets to go to university and who doesn't.

If the training of pilots one year was compromised so none of them could certified, we'd go a year without certifying any new pilots. We'd cope somehow. Universities can't go a year without any new students though, that's just not a reasonable outcome.

On the face of it basing grades on predicted outcomes and adjusting for the historical record of specific schools to overestimate those predictions seems to be a pragmatic approach.

[heavenlyblue]

You can’t learn to fly without really flying (although that is also probably arguable - there should some skills which are transferable from simulators). However a lot of western higher education is based on giving enough info on how to study yourself.