The real question to be asked is that whether the tests are serving the intended purpose i.e that of finding the best students of the lot (best can be defined a

The real question to be asked is that whether the tests are serving the intended purpose i.e that of finding the best students of the lot (best can be defined as being most knowledgeable of the subject being tested). A student with experience of solving of large number of questions will have an advantage over another student who knows the subject matter but have not done any test prep. In India, where I come from, this is a almost a way of life. Almost all prestigious institutions including graduate schools determine whom to admit based on a test score (and an interview in some places), as opposed to the practice in the U.S (graduate schools) of considering a candidate's GPA,essays etc. On one hand this a very transparent method ,which is important in a country plagued with corruption like India. But on the other hand it leads students to play the "test-prep game" i.e practicing a large numbers of similar questions. This has led to test prep becoming a lucrative business. Students who do not attend the "coaching centers", which are often more expensive than the regular schools they go to, will lose out to students who do, even though the knowledge the subject is the same. In India it has manifested as a problem when students from rural areas losing out students from urban regions, due to lack of these test prep centers. The truth of the matter is that such tests serves as a good mechanism to condense a large applicant pool to a smaller one. But to base the entire admission process on one test doesn't seem to be optimal.