You're still thinking of it in one big sort. That's the centralized method. That relies on metrics.
You want several gradual sorts from the bottom up where each sortation relies on personal accountability between the different teachers and administrations. It would probably look much closer to the European football leagues. You would have gradual promotions and relegations every year.
Is there an example where this system is employed for the purpose of college admissions?
> each sortation relies on personal accountability between the different teachers and administrations
How would such a system actually work? As an illustrative example, the year I graduated High School I was one among about ~ 300K graduating students in my province. There were only ~ 35K college seats across all undergraduate courses (including Women's Colleges, Evening Colleges, etc) in my province up for grabs. If I was interested in medicine, there were ~ 400 seats, of which ~ 150 are female only. How would 'personal accountability' between teachers & administrations work in this scenario? I still fail to grasp how you suggest one kid should go to college vs another. School grades? I had the highest grades in the science exam nationwide, but so did 10 other kids just in my school. All of us could have gotten glowing letters of recommendation from our teachers, and I think that's a terribly subjective way to evaluate large numbers of people.
If your football league analogy is meant to suggest that students should move into and between colleges based on performance, that still doesn't resolve how one gets into a college in the first place without an exam. Even with continual evaluation at the school level, you're still left with many more eligible students (100X) than you have capacity for.
You can not rely on metrics. A letter of recommendation from someone you have never met is just another metric. You keep thinking of this from the top down perspective. India might have such scale that perhaps nothing else is possible. But the more scarce the resources are, the more important that they are used properly.
By 3rd grade you would be filtered into the best class in your city. By the 9th grade you would be filtered into the top province level school. By college, you would be filtered into the position that you already earned. In America we call this system the magnet schools. All I am suggesting is to make this more fluid, and with digital schools coming to be as a result of CO-VID, is the perfect time to experiment with such a system.
More importantly than attempting to fix the Indian education system is what can you do to help against metricification. Do not rely on others scores. If you are hiring and get a resume from someone who did not go to a prestigious school, do not throw it away without looking. People are more than a number. The best often do not look like the best.
You want several gradual sorts from the bottom up where each sortation relies on personal accountability between the different teachers and administrations. It would probably look much closer to the European football leagues. You would have gradual promotions and relegations every year.