[thundergolfer]

Yes, there were always rich kids that were able to cheat, using college just for the status and credentialism, and there still are. What Chomsky is interested in, and what we should be interested in, is how we get rich kids like J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer didn't need to become educated in and world class at physics, be he did it anyway, and it's probably the lack of need which increased his interest and ability.

I think your separation idea is interesting. At first blush, it seems a good move to keep examination as far away from education as possible, as they're very different things.