I can see both sides here.
ColinsMum is right that the math on the SAT is run-of-the-mill algebra and geometry. One of my big objections to the SAT is precisely that it wants you to answer lots of questions very quickly. Ergo, by design, there's nothing too deep there. I know I've said this before, but comparing with the Higher Level Maths on the Irish Leaving Certificate (google it) will give you an idea about what it means to ask questions that require some thought. I don't know about the A-Level Maths. I presume it's more like the Irish exam, but maybe more advanced because Irish students study more subjects in secondary school than do students in the UK (?).
On the other hand, the SET program at Hopkins is focused specifically on getting a score of 700 before age 13. To get there, a kid would have to have finished geometry and have got partway through Algebra 2. This is because the SAT does test facts that can't generally be intuited in the 45 seconds or less that you get for each problem. Most 12-year-olds haven't even got to Algebra 1 yet. So the point seems to be that Hopkins is looking for kids who have already shown enough interest in maths that they're willing to do a fair bit of extra work to get to Algebra 2 and have a good foundation in Algebra 1 and Geometry when most kids their age are still in pre-algebra or below.
SET is almost certainly biased toward lightning-fast types over slow-and-deep types. But that is another discussion.
ETA: Remember also that the SAT is grueling (ten subtests and 5.5+ hours from start to finish). So getting through it at a young age also requires an ability to concentrate for a long period that most kids that age don't have yet.
I'm NOT defending the SAT as an adequate test of a high school education (I don't think it is). I'm only saying that I can see the reasoning behind using it to quality for SET. Personally, I think a homemade exam would be better, but then Hopkins would have to write one or two exams per year.
Last edited by Val; 03/26/13 02:12 PM.
