<p>"The lower a school's cutoff score, the bigger the problem, said Mr. Feinman, the economist. For example, a student in the 95 percentile in math and the 79 percentile in verbal could have made Bronx Science last year, beating out a student in the 94 percentile in math and the 81 percentile in verbal."</p>
<p>That does not show a system based on merit.</p>