I finally watched the Ted Talk you suggested and then watched a few others on the same issue. Here’s one of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otlmKZeNi-U None of the Above - Why Standardized Testing Fails: Bob Sternberg
What I got out of your’s, re-posted so others can easily find it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv_Cr1a6rj4 is that high test scores correlate really well with elite achievement. What it doesn’t tell me is how many elite achievers got high test scores or what tests they may have taken. Nor does it describe the education they received, or … it doesn’t tell me anything else at all. In fact it seems very simplistic, rather mindless data reporting.
The video I posted, "None of the Above … " takes a, yes condensed, but more comprehensive perspective of the issue and points to what the speaker concludes tests should rather be screening for and more effective way of identifying and nurturing talent.
When a lot of money is invested in and made from a product, SAT tests, when the customer base, high school students primarily, is captive, when the product is so convenient and easy to use, there is little incentive for most to fundamentally question it. Given how computing is evolving, I wonder if this testing system will be replaced in the next decade of so?
Is the College Board and US News rankings contributing to or detracting from the overall quality of tertiary education?