[oldalum]

[ once you add points to admissions scorecard for anything but proven academic record or recognized knowledge tests, you move away from the best and the brightest. 

 "proven academic record or recognized knowledge tests" is probably the most quantifiable, readily available standard for identifying "the best and the brightest", but whether it is the best measure seems to me at least debatable (there is some circularity to it) and depends in part on the mission of the organization. Many medical schools, for example, have realized that admitting only the "academic" best and the brightest is not adequately fulfilling the medical needs of the society.

[oldalum]

[ once you add points to admissions scorecard for anything but proven academic record or recognized knowledge tests, you move away from the best and the brightest. 

 "proven academic record or recognized knowledge tests" is probably the most quantifiable, readily available standard for identifying "the best and the brightest", but whether it is the best measure seems to me at least debatable (there is some circularity to it) and depends in part on the mission of the organization. Many medical schools, for example, have realized that admitting only the "academic" best and the brightest is not adequately fulfilling the medical needs of the society.