Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What does the SAT really measure?

My feeling is- the SAT is required for almost every competitive college. If it measures intelligence or not, you need to do really well on it if you want to get into a competitive college. I would worry if my pricey high school didn't procedure NMSF. Our public school has 10-15 a year.
You can really prepare and improve your scores alot with today's SAT. I know personally 3 kids in our area who got perfect 2400 SAT scores. I never knew anyone as a kid/teen, and I think the SAT scores became inflated over time. I'm assuming that is why MENSA doesn't accept SAT scores anymore for membership.

fwtxmom: I think I would be a little concerned, too. 3 since 2005? (That's really low, compared to my local public school, and it pales in comparison to number of NMSF generated at the pricey schools around here)

Do you have information on how the kids do on things like AP tests or SAT subject tests? What does the school give you to use as an "objective" yardstick?

Does the school give scholarships to attract high achieving students? I think that is one good way to attract that type of student, provided that the school is a "best option" in your area.

The SAT was recentered in 1995. Verbal scores of 730+ and math scores of 780+ became 800s http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/sat/equivalence-tables/sat-score .

Which implies that it's a sort-of IQ test with a very low ceiling. I say "sort of" IQ test because it measures knowledge that no one is born with (e.g. vocabulary, geometry) as much as stuff that's more innate (e.g. the ability to see relationships).

I think of tests like the SAT and GRE as being very good discriminators of averageness.

The school takes the position that the SAT does not really matter or measure anything substantive.

Personally, I think that's just silly. Of course it is at least ONE indicator, and it's not comppletely random, right? However, even at our large school, there are only a handful of kids a year, so I wouldn't necessarily assume a deficit. I also think that you need to look at the entire picture: AP scores (not just number taking them, but % scoring 4s or 5s), average ACT/SAT scores, college acceptances, etc... I would almost be more worried about their statement that it's pointless - THAT sounds like CYA. In the end, though, it only really matters how your kids do. If there are enough peers for them to have some like-minded, like-qualified students in their honors/AP classes, it doesn't matter how the "average" student does. I always like to ask, "how many kids are performing at/close to my child's level?" I don't need names, or test scores, but I want to have some sense that my kids won't be outliers. Even if that isn't ideal, is it a small, caring community with teachers willing to mentor/challenge your kids if they ARE alone intellectually? That can make up for a lot.

I love this board! I can count on it for a really thorough and diverse discussion. Momtofour, you have hit the intangible that really pulled me to the school. It's small, it's warm and they seem willing to be flexible with their program for my 2e mathy DS and my very verbal DYS DD. The school is engaging in some introspection on academic issues, which is a good sign, and I want to really explore this myself in advance so that I can contribute intelligently.

Part of that is small class size effect, though. Our public high school (which is a generally good one) has about 6 NMSFs in a given year - but it has about 1,000 students in a graduating class. Six classes at 75 per is 450 kids and 3 NMSFs. Sounds right to me.

The public school with the highest percentage of NMSF in the state has 12 or so out of a graduating class of 750 or so.

I kind of feel like the SATs aren't particularly emphasized in TX for the brightest kids, because they will be auto-accepted to UT & aTm regardless of their SAT score, due to the whole top 10% GPA thing.

In the end, it actually doesn't matter what the SAT and PSAT measure. In the real world most people realize it's a game to some extent, a game that's worth mastering. There is a TON of money riding on those tests. It's a bit nuts for your school to say the tests don't matter when they CLEARLY matter for scholarships and admittance.

I understand a school not wanting to be in the "business" of teaching to any standardized test, but to tell you the test doesn't matter is ludicrous.

I think most of the prep type schools around here offer SAT prep classes before or after school.

btw: I disagree about the small class size argument. Once you get to the "pricey college prep" schools, self-selection is already well underway. Those kids are typically ready and able (with varying amounts of prepping) to do well on the test. Around here typically 5-15% of the students at the priciest prep schools are NMSF.

Worth mastering right up until the entire higher education system implodes due to it's own financial stupidity.

It's probably only got another 10 to 20 years at this rate.