If the Varsity Blues scandal showed anything, it was that the wealthy and well connected have all kinds of ways of gaming the system to improve their chances of college admissions. Even beyond the obviously illegal, they can pay for tutors to help with (or even do) their homework. They can hire people to write their college application essays. And even if they are not wealthy, students who lack academic ability can always benefit from grade inflation or by dint of a quietly less challenging curriculum.

The one area where such undeserved and artificial advantages are minimized, and only merit can shine through, is standardized testing.