people whose SAT scores don't match their intelligence

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>At your high school are there people whose SAT scores don't seem to match their intelligence? Are there "ordinarily smart" people whose SAT scores surpass the geniuses' of the grade? Or bright kids with SAT scores that don't seem to be reflective of their potential? Just thought it'd be interesting to see if there is a gap between one's SAT score and one's -perceived- intelligence. Or does someone's SAT score affect your perception of his or her intelligence?</p>

<p>What do you think?
Note: I don't want to turn this into a "Does the SAT measure intelligence?" discussion. I am just interested in what other high schoolers think about their peers' SAT scores as related to what they think about their peers' intelligence. Does that even make sense? Lol I hope you get what I'm saying.</p>

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<p>Such a study would have limited implictions due to actively studying for the test</p>

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<p>One of our daughters, who got all A’s in high school, got 450 math and 470 verbal on her SAT’s. When we got the results, I thought there had been some mistake. She took them a second time with virtually identical results. She said she just froze and her brain wouldn’t work. She got into UMASS despite the low scores where she made deans list every semester and from where she will graduate this May with honors. So, yes, I’m a firm believer that there can be a mismatch and that SAT’s are not always a reflection of one’s intelligence or ability to succeed in higher education.</p>

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<p>I know some with scores that seem too low, and some with scores that seem about right. I don’t know the scores of all of my friends, though, as it doesn’t interest me. Some people are good test takers, some are bad test takers, some are good all-but-stressful-standardized test takers.</p>

<p>My SAT score doesn’t match my grades 100% (my fault, it does match my junior-senior grades, though). I can’t say if it matches my “intelligence,” as that is unquantifiable, unknowable, and somewhat nonexistent in the modern sense of the word.</p>

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<p>First of all, it’s important to define intelligence:</p>

<p>“Intelligence is an umbrella term describing a property of the mind comprehending related abilities, such as the capacities for abstract thought, reasoning, planning and problem solving, the use of language, and to learn.” Wikipedia.org</p>

<p>Getting all A’s in high school does not show intelligence. Getting all A’s shows perseverance. I could have gotten all A’s in freshman and sophomore year, but I didn’t. I don’t mean to sound conceited or arrogant, but that’s the truth. Putting substantial effort into a class will get you an A. I would bet on statement. </p>

<p>In high school, there are multiple opportunities to raise ones GPA or Class rank. on the SAT, it’s largely a one time deal and shows one’s skill level in terms of solving problems quickly and accurately, which defines the “problem solving” part of the definition.</p>

<p>Math is considered abstract, because it isn’t tangible, it isn’t concrete in any way. And guess what? There’s a math section on the SAT.</p>

<p>The SAT essay shows both the use of language, and planning. Use of language is obvious; the SAT essay is where students can show off their superfluous language. Planning is essential to a good essay, the essay must be both logical and written well to attain a high score.</p>

<p>And finally, the entirety of the SAT test is a test on how well one learns. The SAT is based off of things that everyone, around the country, should know by the point they decide to take it in their junior or senior years. Because this isn’t a hard test, the way to beat it is to learn what is on it and what isn’t on it, what’s important and what’s not important, how to take the test and be confident in the chosen answers. </p>

<p>The SAT tests all of those capacities. There’s no way you can tell me that the SAT is not an intelligence exam with a straight face.</p>

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<p>So, naturally, when an SAT score goes up by a lot through practice, then it means that person has gotten much more intelligent?</p>

<p>I can’t even say that with a straight face, it’s ridiculous.</p>

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<p>^@BillMc</p>

<p>I know right? What if someone got a 1500 on their fast try (which isn’t too good=not too intelligent) then gets a pretty solid 2000 score after tons of practice(Which is 90+percentile).</p>

<p>Anyways, in theory, that means the person did get more intelligent, more or less.</p>

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<p>The SAT is a test with a set of rules you need to know to do well. It also requires a sort of mentality for test-taking that some don’t have, but that makes them no less intelligent.</p>

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<p>Hi all I just got curious after reading these posts. I have a 135 IQ and 2330 SAT superscored, 2300 single sitting. Are they consistent?</p>

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<p>I kind of feel that SAT is almost the thing that divides the kids who just do well in school from the ones who are really smart. Most of the kids who have higher GPA’s then me in school are struggling to break 2000, but not to sound arrogant, I scored above 2000 with no studying and falling asleep in the middle of the test. Some of those kids have made rude comments to me about my grades, but they’re the ones with the 1700/1800 SAT scores…</p>

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<p>

At least somewhat, in the sense that both are well above average. The percentile for the 2330 is 99+. The IQ percentile is probably pretty high, too. I’m not really a fan of the IQ test (not because I scored low; the one time I had to take it, I scored high). The idea that intelligence is quantifiable is an affront to logic, psychology, and human thought. IQ measures something, but it isn’t everything that the blanket term “intelligence” covers.</p>

<p>

Being ranked ~25th (out of ~400) in my class and having the highest scores of anyone in my high school, I know what you mean. However, I don’t see the distinction as those who are “really smart” and those who are not; it’s more those that are skilled at test taking and those who are less so, a gap that can be somewhat closed due to studying.</p>

<p>That said, one might surmise that studying for classes and getting good grades would be a “smart” thing to do. I know I certainly regret by freshman and sophomore year performances.</p>

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<p>No, I agree completely. But at least in my school, there are a group of kids who yes, have ridiculously high GPA’s, but are very pretentious about it, and literally will not talk to you if they don’t think you’re as “smart” as them…I have a fine GPA, but a lot of my friends are not the most academic, and these kids will not aknowledge them at all. I was just saying its kinda nice to see these pretentious kids getting mediocre SATs.</p>

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<p>My sister has a an IQ of 140 and an SAT score of 1790 (she was in a gifted progam and skipped a grade). She did significantly better on the ACT and I did as well.</p>

<p>

Not really. Some smart people do well on the SAT, some don’t.</p>

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<p>I haven’t taken the official SAT yet but I feel like all of my practice tests are not refelecting me. I have straight A’s in school but am finding it hard to crack a 600 in math which is one of my best subjects! I do not know the average among everyone else though.</p>

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<p>I think your right. I took the SAT twice; the first time measuring out to be a 1740, the next a 1770, so not much difference. But my entire school (note that I apologize for being immodest), teachers, students, faculty, everyone and their grandmothers will tell you how “brilliant” I am. The SAT questions trick you to the point where it doesn’t measure your intelligence, but if you were paying attention the morning you took it. Even leaving the facility the second time, I could have sworn that my score was above 2000, at least! Mostly because I felt extremely good on all the sections besides Critical Reading. I nearly threw a ***** fit when I got the score back to see a friekin’ 1770!
If you still don’t believe that I’m extremely intelligent, take this for an example. When I applied to MIT (still waiting for the response), I set up an interview with an Aerospace Engineer from the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, who was marked as my EC for interviewing. Even he, a man of years of experience on me and much greater education than I, left bluntly saying to me that I am one of the smartest candidates he had ever met. At this point, I’m considering the SAT a joke, and I’m not going to let the score limit me in any way.</p>

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<p>Dude, I know. I’m taking Calculus AB and BC in the same year without any prior experience in either subject and I’m getting straight A’s while putting the teacher’s most experienced kids to shame. But my highest SAT Math score was 680. Hell! That was the first time, the second time, I got a 650! The test doesn’t measure your intelligence, but if you paying attention to the little tricks they throw in. The whole thing is just a joke to me now.</p>

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<p>Sat is one of the worst way to test intelligence, in my view. I know many really smart people who got low scores on the SAT (about 1500) and still ended up in the dean list. To ace this test you just need to learn a lot of tricks, that is all. When I first did the SAT i got about 1400. After a lot of practicing and learning tricks, my score is about 2060.</p>

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<p>This thread is very entertaining. Those with low scores are justifying their poor performance despite their “amazing” intelligence, by vilifying and ridiculing the SAT; those with high scores are asserting the fact that the SAT is an amazing indicator for intelligence. The only common goal here is feeding the ego, not reaching a true answer.</p>

<p>Acknowledging the fact that the number of your PRODUCTIVE SAT study hours is very significant to your score, I am forced to maintain that the SAT does measure IQ to some extent and most people who do get high scores (especially on Math and CR) are at least above average in terms of intelligence and mental capacity.</p>

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<p>The SAT, while it is a measure of certain math concepts or analytical abilities, is just as much a measure of how good you are at taking the test and how much you’ve practiced. The more practice tests you take and spend going thoroughly over, the higher your score will rise. </p>

<p>I do know a couple of kids in our school’s National Honor Society that have pretty low SAT scores - like 1500 and 1400s. I think these kids underestimate the value of hard focus that goes into getting a good score on the test. But, most kids if they’ve worked hard to do well in school, will work hard into raising their score.</p>

<p>Also, I think getting a good night’s sleep and eating a good breakfast is very important into doing well on the test. The very first time I took a grueling four hour SAT practice test, I got something like a 1750. I took the October test, I went in with no preparation (haha don’t judge, I procrastinate) and was pleased to find I got a 1970. I had done nothing extra besides get a solid nine hours of sleep. The best thing you can do if you haven’t studied is to just get some good sleep. Of course, that’s the last resort</p>

<p>The SAT is really a measure of good study habits and applying it on the test, I think. :)</p>

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<p>^that doesn’t explain kids getting high scores without any practice. I mean, I got a 2150 or so on my first practice test without ever having seen a test like it, let alone having done any practice.</p>