<p>'85 - you nailed it. </p>
<p>It IS very important @ USNA because the institution IS one of those selective few and because it's national/international in prospects. So the standardized test becomes a common thread to all applicants and it becomes a convenient, credible, much-needed selection hair-splitter that is independently administered and is found useful when an insitution has 10-14K applicants geographically dispersed, virtually all of whom are physically, academically, and medically fit, host a gazillion athletic letters and ECs, and whose parents vote.</p>
<p>And the real bottom line is ... it doesn't matter what we think. Like the tests, hate 'em. Wishful thinking is wasted thinking. The USNA looks at them hard, and keeps close tabs on every one of those 10-14K kiddoes and their scores. So no sense fretting over those things one cannot control.</p>