It doesn't matter. I've read and heard many accounts of college admission officers and hiring managers who say that among the top 30%, it is essentially random

It doesn't matter. I've read and heard many accounts of college admission officers and hiring managers who say that among the top 30%, it is essentially random. They don't know how or even need to differentiate between the 30%, 20%, and 10%. So what it comes down to is selecting a random differentiator that can stand up against nepotism (objective and measurable), legal scrutiny (fair), audits (easy to comply with) and so on. Essentially everyone who answers those questions reasonably well passes. But the one who answered best gets hired because at that point we don't even have a good differentiating signal.