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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Numerous studies have shown over and over again that test scores are superior predictors of college performance and career success.[/quote]

If one measures success by reaching the c-suite or becoming an executive the largest correlation is not found in test scores but found in "did the person in question go to an elite school and play a college sport?" i.e. were they an athlete. The Chetty study is correct but opaque because they didn't isolate and write about the correct factors. The increased chance for the 1% is driven by gatekeeping in IB, MBB consulting, top law, top med school. Entry to those careers (outside of medicine which is a bit wider) is largely limited to graduates from the Ivy+ schools and a small set of elite SLACs. And, within some of those careers (IB, MBB especially) athletes have big recruiting advantages.  Remove these careers from the dataset and the Ivy+ schools look like all of the other top schools which is why there is no additional bump into the top 25% but a large one into the top 1%.

In the end the path looks like this:

wealthy families -> access to organized sports (especially lax, hockey, and volleyball for women) -> recruited athlete admission to elite colleges -> elite college networks and credential -> entry into prestigious firms and graduate schools -> executive pipeline -> top 1% income

It's really not hard to see and the research backs it up.[/quote]

What research?

There is none.  This is all conjecture.[/quote]

Sorry but no, it isn't conjecture at all.

There is the Opportunity Insights paper on elites to the 1% which kicked this off. That one doesn't refer to athletes.
There is a Fordham Institute piece on who gets to elite schools which calls out athletics
IZA study on Athletes outperforming in terms of wages but it is broader and doesn't solely focus on elite schools
There is a paper by Long and Caudill on the subject
There is a piece on the success of Athletes from Cornell's Johnson school
There is research from EY showing that 94% of women in the C-suite are former athletes and 80% of execs overall
There is a Deloitte survey showing that 93% of women in top earning roles played sports
There is a Wharton piece on measuring the return of Title IX which provides evidence

Quite a bit of the research is getting old but it is there.

[/quote]

I am familiar with the opportunity insights article by chetty et al.  Is that the one you are talking about?
You've gained yourself a lot of credibility in my book by caveating your sources the way you did.  It's a good habit, you should continue to do it.

A lot of your sources seem to revolve around women and sports.  
The E&Y survey said that 94% of female executives played competitive sports only about half played college sports.  
I don't dismiss the value of sports, I have always insisted on sports or a job for my kid.  
But I am skeptical of the notion that wealth is a barrier to sports that can yield these benefits
I am skeptical of the notion that elite colleges (other than slacs) are generally able to recruit athletes that are at the same academic level as their other students.
I am skeptical that playing sport in college allows you to bypass the initial barrier and get you on track to the C suite.[/quote]

NP.  Cynically, perhaps the women are getting ahead not for playing sports themselves but for being able to socialize with men by engaging in what my DH calls "sports yap".

I am not a sporty person and have spent very little time watching games.  I never learned the rules of men's pro sports beyond the most obvious.

The Gen-X men who have taken over from Boomers at my workplace love to make all our social events about drinking and sports.  Also a lot of the chitchat that goes beyond "How was your weekend" and comments about the weather requires sports knowledge.

I have tried.  I have really tried.  But everything about watching other people do sports bores me.  I've even tried to do a noteworthy job of completing March Madness brackets.  I came in 2nd once and I don't care at all about basketball.

Going to games, sports bars, happy hours, golfing, bragging about coaching kids, all of it...that's a big part of getting ahead in some circles.[/quote]

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