Posted on 12/04/2019 1:46:54 PM PST by karpov
Abstract: Fifteen years ago, Frey and Detterman established that the SAT (and later, with Koenig, the ACT) was substantially correlated with measures of general cognitive ability and could be used as a proxy measure for intelligence (Frey and Detterman, 2004; Koenig, Frey, and Detterman, 2008). Since that finding, replicated many times and cited extensively in the literature, myths about the SAT, intelligence, and academic achievement continue to spread in popular domains, online, and in some academic administrators. This paper reviews the available evidence about the relationships among the SAT, intelligence, and academic achievement, dispels common myths about the SAT, and points to promising future directions for research in the prediction of academic achievement.
Keywords: intelligence; SAT; academic achievement
(Excerpt) Read more at mdpi.com ...
As Thomas Sowell wrote, 'Freedom is not simply the right of intellectuals to circulate their merchandise. It is, above all, the right of ordinary people to find elbow room for themselves and a refuge from the rampaging presumptions of their “betters.”'
I had solid SAT and ACT scores, much better than my brother’s.
My brother was much more tenacious than me.
Guess who did better in college?
Brains can be overrated.
Bingo! SAT/ACT cannot predict how well one will do in college. They are only a measure of how much knowledge you soaked up into your spongey grey matter up to that point. And, to some extent, your ability to problem solve.
No indicator of anything else.
You are correct, IQ is just one factor for success. Energy, willingness to take risks, good character — all that counts heavily too.
A big part of the pushback against standardized test scores is that rich kids can prep out the wahzoo.
Quality test prep is expensive, and works at the margins.
Can boost a 1250 to a 1350, but it won’t boost a 950 to a 1200.
Around 1966, I was an education major for a short time. One of the best courses I ever took was one on testing.
Most people don’t believe it but multiple choice and true false are the most reliable means of testing. Essay are the worst. No wonder they now add essays to some of the newer tests.
Also, again contrary to popular opinion, IQ tests are among the most reliable. If you take one and then take another different one you will likely score very similarly.
I had a boss that you would think was an idiot. He had to have simple processes explained to him and someone had to rewrite any document he had to send upstairs. BUT, he knew who to assign and which course of action to take. Also he knew his limitations, so he surrounded himself with people that made up for his shortcomings. He was very loyal to his people, so all loved working for him. The way he explained himself was that "he wasn't very smart, but he was very cunning."
SAT has a strong correlation with reading speed. It has nothing to do with school achievement. You can take Calc 3 or AP Physics C and it will not help you on the SAT. There are no questions for high achievers. SAT questions are made to test logic and reading speeds as well as above average (not very high) language skills and accuracy. This is very different from IQ or advanced competency in a given area.
The test has been changed several times throughout the past 30 years. So if you took the test in the 70’s or 80’s you will notice that today’s students have generally higher scores. Today’s SAT is geared to find students from below average schools that might be able to pass college classes. Specifically they want to detect black students who are less likely to drop out.
In today’s tests there are far more perfect or near perfect scores. And people who have taken very little math or science but are fast readers, will do better in STEM questions than those who are actually good at math. The reason is that reading speed allows time to finish the test and to review answers or to work problems out the long way.
I disagree with this statement. I have seen kids improve their scores by 200 points by simply learning what kinds of questions are asked, understanding the time needed for each, taking multiple practice tests, and memorization of often used terms or problems.
I suppose it demonstrates, as you indicated, that discipline and tenacity are also forms of intelligence.
Test prep can help you. One big reason is that it can often take away the anxiety of taking the test. And you are right about the other fractures like time management.
Until Feb 1994 Mensa used to accept the SAT as a qualifying test.
These tests mean nothing if the person taking the test has no belief in them or is taking them “just because” they need to. Let me explain further. The ASVAB is the Military version of the SAT and ACT and determines whether or not you can go into the military occupation of choice. I know an individual who took the ASVAB in high school. That individual scored very low because they were goofing off that day. They scored something like a 68 which only qualified the individual for a grunt in the Army. Some of those here would say because that individual was just not that smart and the test showed what he knew.
Did the test really show the individual’s intelligence level?
The score did not qualify the individual to enter into the choice of occupation. However, the individual’s recruiter allowed the individual to retake the ASVAB. At that time it was projected the individual would only do only 4 points better on the retake but this would qualify the individual for the occupation of their choice.
So the day came and the individual took the test. Before the test the individual was highly embarassed due to a bottle of cologne/perfume breaking in their bag and smelling up the entire room. So much so the test administrator removed the bag to outside of the testing room. The individual took the test and waited for the results. This would nullify the previous test score and the new test score would stand. The recruiter approached the individual the next day and gave the individual the results of the test. This time the individual, without any further study, scored an 86 on the ASVAB. The recruiter said he had never seen anyone do that before in his career. He never saw it done again either. The only thing the individual did not qualify in the military with an 86 score on the ASVAB was to train as an optomologist which needed a score of 92 to qualify for.
Scores don’t correlate to future outcomes. They only measure a snapshot at that time of knowledge learned and retained. That knowledge learned can be forgotten if not used for an indeterminate period of time. If a student takes the ACT/SAT/ASVAB 20 years later, if a true score would be had, then that same student should either score higher, with further education or real life experience, or at the same score they scored in high school. They truth of the matter is they won’t. They will score lower. This is because most of what is on the ASVAB is not used or practised over those twenty years. These test scores are only a snapshot of what one knows at that period of time. It should not be a mitigating factor of what one has the capacity to do in the future.
I scored well on the SAT in 1966. I needed to take the GRE in 1983, seventeen years later. The scores differed by ONE point. Maybe this is not typical but the result was very gratifying and did contribute to my gaining admission to a graduate program. My unusual background caused this to be a "must" for admission.
A students work for C students.
Did you overlook Providence on your list ?
A second specific change is that an 800 on a test used to mean a perfect TEST with zero errors. Now an 800 means a perfect SCORE, but the test can have a few errors.
They got rid of the analogy section of the SAT; that was a huge component of its ability to measure general intelligence.
No. SAT scores correlated extremely well to further academic success. That is why they started dicking around with it.
The mind is plastic, or as I like to think of it, like a muscle in terms of what it has most - potential derived from its composition and structure; thinking potential as far as the brain goes.
Much of it’s success - serving someone well - is gained through work, study & inquiring, thinking and problem solving over any period of time. “Intelligence” is an achievement.
As it is developed, intelligence prepares the mind for continued improvement.
Intelligence is less where less time has been put to obtaining it.
A higher SAT score than someone registered when it was taken for college admissions purposes can be obtained by the same person years later, if the efforts missed in the earlier years are put forth diligently.
Yet, meanwhile, colleges do have to have something to go on, and the SAT is a good enough indicator of intelligence and “learning potential” - at the time the SAT score is made.
My high SATs did me no good at all. In fact, they harmed me. I got the idea that I was smart and knew more than most people. This is a very poor (losers) attitude.
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