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Why is it that no matter how many new tests we come up with - no matter how many new teaching methods we devise - the kids seem to do worse and worse?

Albert Einstein's school performance problems have probably been exaggerated to make his life appear more dramatic, but he did clash with the authorities of the the Luitpold Gymnasium and he did fail the entrance exam to the Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule in Zürich. There was clearly a problem with the system's ability to test his intelligence.

Then, as now, scientists, statisticians and the general public were very optimistic about the measurability of seemingly-elusive aspects of life: character, intellect, disposition. Darwin had published...