People are born with different talents and it usually takes time and care to discover the one hidden within each child. For many kids, their talent comes out in a natural way as the child grows up. Some gifts are more visible than others and are easily recognizable. For instance, a child with a good voice and ability to sing could easily be noticed. But another one might have the ability to solve complicated math puzzles and this may not be readily evident until and unless the child comes across an opportunity to express this talent.
Unfortunately, most of the standardized test scores in colleges are aimed at evaluating only the academic skills of the student. The other skills that a student possesses are not taken into consideration. There are no comprehensive methods and tests available for proper evaluation of some other skills that students possess. Our inability to recognize the different talents that humans have and to formulate the right kind of tests to discover them in students, has resulted in scores of students having their true potential unrealized.
This is a sad situation, as we are wasting precious human resources. There could be so many Einsteins, Bohrs, Beethovens and Mozarts among our student community who may go unrecognized just because we have failed to come up with the right tests to detect their talents. They would also go through life as losers because they would not be able to fit into the mundane routine that so many other excel at. The others would be so successful at going through a monotonous life that they would have a successful career while these talented individuals would limp through life working on low-paid posts.