why does score matter?

I've seen a few references to wanting a high score on the exam. Why does the score matter? Aren't you either certified or not? (I got in the high 80s on part 1 but I wasn't shooting for a high score and didn't buy the mocks.) I certainly wanted a high enough score that I would know that I would pass (and not have to pay to take the exam again.)

I'm curious why the score matters.

Cultural? Where I live it is not common to ask for your score. Your degree counts, but not how well you did to get it.
Same for certificates.

I think any company doesn't ask the certificate score, but in this forum the score matters. I trust on those who have a high score.

Really the score isn't important but, I think that is a good measure to know if you did the necesary to meet your goal and justify the effort

Jan: Maybe.

Miguel: Interesting point. That assumes you have the same goals as the exam of course.

Mika: You trust those with credibility. Score is an aspect of that. I wrote up my experiences with part 1. The beginning reads:

Six weeks ago, I decided to take the SCEA 5 (Sun Certified Enterprise Architect) exam. Today I passed part one with a score 87%.

Note: I did not pay for any mock exams. I’m sure I would have scored above 90% had I done so. I don’t think paying money for a higher passing score is worth it. That isn’t learning for the sake of learning. It is learning specifically for a test.

Clearly you don't think I would have more credibility if I had paid for a mock and gotten 3% higher?