<p>Calmom, of course the SAT was not and is not designed to measure changes or abnormalities in adolescence. As it stands at present, the SAT is a reasoning test that gives a snapshot of student test-taking performance on a given day - that of the test. Nonetheless, some of the biggest issues and problems associated with the exam has to do with exam success and what are often perceived to be inherent SES and gender biases. The NIH study is of interest in this context, albeit in a limited way, because conclusions can and are extrapolated from the study when it comes to creating metrics designed to assess performance on IQ (which the SAT is not) and achievement tests (which the SAT is). Measures of basic cognitive functions, like memory and verbal fluency are connected to exam success. I don't think any of the above cited studies suggest or even hint that the SAT would ever be or ought to become a metric that would allow us "to peer into the normal developing brain". Even though quite a few researchers have given it a go on that score. Exam success taps into a range of issues connected to stereotypes concerning intellectual ability and that includes a wide range of factors that might impede academic performance. In the context of the SAT we are dealing with adolescents, of whatever score range, (and I do know many kids who are greatly concerned about how to get their scores up from the 400s into that average 500 range and for them it is a big deal) who aspire to a degree of academic success and for whom exam success is important.</p>