JLPT N2 Reading Comprehension Lesson 38

Needless to say, if we narrow the discussion strictly to academic ability and ask whether it is better for it to be high or low, the answer is obvious. It goes without saying that higher is better. It is the same as asking whether getting 100 points or 80 points on a test is better. It is better to get 100 points, and tests exist precisely to check whether that is possible. However, if you change the way you ask the question, the answer is no longer so simple. Consider this: between a child who gets 100 points on a test and a child who only gets 80 points, which one is the "better child"? In that case, the answer ought to be that one cannot give a blanket answer. When it comes to a comprehensive evaluation of who is the better child, there is no way one can make assertions based solely on test results. On the contrary, even if we ask whether the child who gets 100 points or the child who gets 80 points is smarter, it cannot be answered so easily. It is a fact that in that specific test, the child who got 100 points performed better, but whether they are smart or not is a completely separate matter. There are likely people who disagree, thinking: "They got a good score on the test, which means their academic ability is higher, so shouldn't we admit that they are smart based on that?" What I would like to ask such people is: "Aren't you assuming that academic ability is the exact same thing as intelligence?"