[bilbo0s]

Goes kind of deeper than that though.

How is a college realistically supposed to reject a guy with a clearly qualifying 28 or 29 on the ACT? You're going to have to give a helluv-an explanation for that, because I can guarantee, you do that to too many kids and the politicians are gonna come after you.

The problem is enormous. That kids can pass these entrance exams without being truly literate is what makes this issue so intractable.

To me, the only politically and socially acceptable option is to fail them in their college coursework. We don't do that though. Most students live by the "curve".

[butterlettuce]

Lots of brilliant kids get rejected with great ACT/SAT scores from elite universities, but they look down on those that lack "extracurricular" activities. Simple as that. It pissed me off when I realized that elite colleges would choose a football player over somebody that studied their butt off and did well in AP courses.

[bilbo0s]

Well, that's the other half of the problem. Or the other edge of the sword of easy entrance exams. You get literally tens of thousands of kids that can get that 35 or 36 on the ACT. If you throw in the kids with the 34's it's even more ridiculous. And Harvard has maybe 2000 spots. (But probably not.)

The exams are just not providing enough separation.