So a test score opens doors. It’s more of a statement about how our society and institutions are structured. That implication says nothing about the quality and acumen of a person once they step through those doors. Test scores do not determine qualities and acumen, only that you meet a standard (acumen and standard is not always one-to-one). All those you named got the opportunity to demonstrate their qualities and acumen because a test score opened a door for them to do so. So I don’t believe test scores have ever mattered to society or institutions other than that: opening a door and not a guarantee of any sort of success once you step through it.
