<p>ECs are valued because there is a direct and proven correlation between involvement in ECs and success in life.</p>
<p>I once attended a school review on the standardized test results. It was the usual explantion of how testing works, margins of error, percentiles, etc. And then one parent asked the expert about correlation between standardized test results and life success, and the expert revealed the most fascinating point of the night: while educators would love to believe there’s a direct correlation, countless research studies have not been able to find a direct correlation between standardized test scores and life success. There are plenty of people who get outstanding scores and don’t achieve much. There are people who get dismal scores and out achieve most. The one thing that does consistently correlate with life success is involvement in ECs. You will find plenty of research papers on-line that prove these points.</p>
<p>There is a correlation between standardized test scores and college grades so colleges want the test scores too, but great test scores alone don’t predict life success.</p>
<p>Now…how one defines “life success” is also an interesting question, but that would be a whole other thread!</p>