While I was in China this summer, I learned a great deal about their educational system. This means most poor families in China have a hard time accessing higher education. In this country testing is again becoming important in the evaluation of students at all educational levels. Many written tests, especially timed tests like the College Boards, are tests that require a good memory, performance under pressure, and a strong base of knowledge on the part of the test taker. Even though a high score insures that a student will have access to many institutions of higher learning, it does not ensure success once that student enters the institution.
Testing is a way of sorting out candidates.
One of the most telling tests that I have seen is the test of time. This test is not standardized and has not been measured for reliability. It is, however, amazingly accurate. Over the years I have seen people in a variety of professions pass the test of time with flying colors. This test uses the real world and real life as its test environment.