So what alternative do you suggest for allowing colleges to compare one school to another? There is a nearby public high school has average SAT scores approaching 1900, whereas about 10 miles away, there is another public high school where the average is 1250. While test scores for individuals may vary, on aggregate they tell a great deal.
Naturally each school has a top 10%. If standardized tests didn’t exist, should selective colleges assume that the top 10% of both schools are equal? Does that do any favors to the top students admitted from the low performing schools that are suddenly overwhelmed in a competitive college?