Silverturtle, perhaps you should read the article linked in the OP’s original post.</p>
<p>And I wouldn’t believe the College Board’s data claiming the SAT is predictive. If it’s not, they don’t have much of a product, do they? And according to “Crossing the Finish Line” it’s not. </p>
<p>Years ago, my alma mater did a study of their own students, comparing incoming SAT scores to final GPA upon graduation from college. They found virtually NO correlation. What did correlate to college GPA? High school GPA. They briefly went test-optional but it didn’t go over well, so they went back to drinking the SAT Kool-Aid.</p>
<p>I had read it. What in your quoted excerpt belies what I have written?</p>
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</p>
<p>Well, no reasonable person would claim the SAT or ACT to be completely nonpredictive with respect to college grades. But even if we dismiss the College Board’s data, what nonpartisan studies indicate that the ACT has greater predictive validity than the SAT? I know of none.</p>
<p>The heart of my preference for the SAT rests in my experience in taking the tests: when I was taking the SAT, I felt as though I was thinking in meaningful and critical ways, whereas during the ACT, I was mindlessly applying formulas or finding paraphrased answers in the text, for example.</p>
<p>I remember (fondly) when the SAT almost died… the UC system stopped requiring it, allegations of racism couldn’t be shaken off, and they had to change the name from “Scholastic Aptitude Test” to “Scholastic Achievement Test”. </p>
<p>Oh well, the CB brought the dragon back to life and now it has even more heads (subject tests, writing, etc.). My kids preferred the ACT but only one did significantly better on it. They though the SAT was full of trick questions, an annoying test section that you are not graded on, and penalties for wrong answers - particularly annoying with trick questions. Worst of all for either test is sitting near a loud sniffer on the test day.</p>
<p>I believe my school is not the only one, but for example, in my school:</p>
<ol>
<li>Counselors recommend students to take the ACT.</li>
<li>About 200 kids take the ACT every time, while only about 30 kids take the SAT.</li>
<li>My school provides awesome, healthy breakfast before the ACT test (not SAT :D), for whoever wants to eat.</li>
</ol>
<p>I am ALWAYS amazed to read statements about the ACT being a better test than the SAT. I am also amazed to read about the ACT offering a superior experience to its customers than the College Board. Anyone who has dealt with the moronic re-registrations requirements of the ACT should appreciate the simplicity of the College Board. </p>
<p>Without throwing more data on the bonfire, allow me to repeat the same statements I have made on CC for the past seven years. The SAT remains a test that is SUPERIOR to the ACT. I remain of the opinion that the growth of the ACT is not due to an overall disappointment with the SAT but mostly due to a number of strategic “benefits” offered to ACT testers as well as the previously mentioned mandates of a number of states. Fwiw, I consider the decision by schools to allow the use of the ACT as a substitute to the SAT Subjects Tests to be nothing short of asinine. And, with a more controversial stance, I also decry the possibilities offered by “score choice.” Rather than “force” the College Board to offer such crutch, schools should have pushed for the abandonment of the similar practice at the ACT. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, while competition should be good for the customers, there is really little worthy of applause when it comes to the growth of the ACT. At best, the ACT has become more comparable to the SAT! </p>
<p>And, fwiw, people who love to claim (or blindly repeat) that the SAT is all about tricks tend to underscore their lack of knowledge and understanding of the test. Reasoning skills and applied logic are hardly tricks.</p>
xiggi, my sister-in-law is a successful SAT prep tutor. She makes her living teaching kids how to get better scores. She understands the test. And she says the SAT is a racket that makes a ton of money for the test-prep companies without making anyone a better student, or predicting who will do better in college. The SAT even had to change its name because it couldn’t prove that it did what it’s name claimed it did. I don’t think that’s terribly difficult to understand. I think anything that brings the SAT down off its high horse is a good thing, and I say that as a parent of a kid whose SAT scores were in the 95+ percentile.</p>
<p>Well, perhaps you ought to ask your SIL to share a few of those easy strategies with you or with this board. I am sure that the many “reasonably intelligent high school students” would love to learn such easy strategies. </p>
<p>For the record, over the years, many “tutors” have made similar claims, but we are still waiting for the first one to demonstrate anything that supports his or her “theories” on CC. </p>
<p>And, fwiw, should the ACT or SAT mean anything in measuring --let alone raising-- one’s intelligence?</p>
<p>Oh I’m sure she’d be glad to share those strategies… for a price. She works for Princeton Review. She never said they’re “easy” either, just that they work, and knowing how to use them doesn’t mean you’re smarter than anyone else, it just means you had the money to pay for a tutor, or spent hours of your valuable time “figuring out” the SAT’s quirks.</p>
<p>
If the SAT isn’t purporting to “measure intelligence” - or aptitude, or whatever they want to call it - WHAT is the point of the test? What IS it measuring?</p>
<p>The answer should come easily to someone who has been analyzing the name of the test. To save you time, the official name of the test is SAT, but it also known as SAT Reasoning Test. It measures critical reading, mathematical reasoning, and writing skills.</p>
<p>I know from where you are coming from, when you say that SAT may be a better test or atleast no less than ACT. Yes, SAT may be more intellectually challenging for the cream of the students. But when you look at the masses, do you still think that is true? I am not arguing either way. I just wanted to hear your ideas.</p>
<p>I answered your question, namely “What IS it measuring?” </p>
<p>Please note that my question was “And, fwiw, should the ACT or SAT mean anything in measuring --let alone raising-- one’s intelligence?” which addressed the specific claims made by your and your SIL about intelligence and “smarts.”</p>
<p>I should have pointed out that you visibly conflated aptitude and intelligence in an attempt to muddy the point I raised about intelligence. My bad!</p>
<p>Back in the day I did equally well on both…as did my oldest son. #2 decided no to the SAT. It was too long of a drive to find a testing center coupled with the fact he didn’t “need” to take it. Regardless, the ACT is straightforward and the math is well…math. I think 2 trig questions the rest Algebra, Geometry and really basic math. It measures what kids have learned in high school. Quite a good test to meet state requiremets and I suspect it will gain favor. </p>
<p>As a parent watching a student go through the SAT process and barely remembering much about my SAT other than the word portion which I “loved” which I guess they don’t have anymore. The test was exhausting, very long I remember it was supposed to start at 8 and it was early afternoon before my son came home and he was drained. He didn’t think the SAT was particularly “hard” just exhausting. My son would never make the claim that it was more “intellectually challenging.” He just doesn’t go through life making those kinds of distinction. He’s more of a test is a test and you give the test whatever it needs. The points off for guessing was something that bothered him because it was a time waster. I’ve never quite understood the methodology for that particular quirk. </p>
<p>Competition is good. Choice is good. Clearly the colleges are in the choice camp. Anyone who thinks SAT is not a business or “not-for-profit” has their head in the sand. A little competition and perhaps some more fine tuning to make it more of an outcomes based exam like the ACT will bring it forward once again. Hard to say. </p>
<p>The only “practice” necessary for the ACT is to perhaps review basic Algebra if it’s been a long time and to learn how to pace through the test. The kids say if you scan through the questions on the reading portion and then read for the answers it’s much easier and you don’t get hung up on the time.</p>
<p>SAT is not an IQ test. Perhaps SAT attempts to measure some reasoning or critical thinking separate from measuring what is learned. I don’t know. I don’t think it matters if colleges will accept one or the other. Take the one that fits the individual best.</p>
<p>What is unfortunate for SAT is that it appears that colleges are interested in “what has been learned” or the SAT IIs, which purportedly measure what has been learned, would not be required. That alone has posibilities of propelling the ACT from a dead heat to the top choice. Kids take so many tests now with APs, state mandated tests etc. etc., not having to pile SAT IIs on top of everything else is a good deal.</p>