Standardized tests
can have the effect
of racial profiling.
The English Regent's Exam tests for a real skill, and the people who
fail that test really lack that skill. Is that important? That
depends on what they are going to do.
I speak French well enough to give speeches, have useful meetings with
public officals, and write articles for publication (though they
require editing by others). But I could not pass the French
equivalent of the English Regent's Exam, because there are many French
words and idiomatic expressions I don't know, and many references I
would not catch.
Would my failure on that hypothetical test be significant? Is my
command of French adequate or not? That depends on what activity I am
going to do. For understanding le Canard enchainé, I am hopelessly
incompetent; for championing free software in French, I seem
reasonably capable.
Likewise, whether someone's failure on the English Regent's Exam is a
real shortcoming depends on what you want that person to do. If it is
to have sophisticated conversations in English the way an educated
native speaker can, it is a real shortcoming and you should look for
someone else. For college study in a field other than English, the
failure at that exam may not matter.