Editing SAT (section)

== Elucidation ==
=== Preparation ===
Pioneered by [[Stanley Kaplan]] in 1946 with a 64-hour course,<ref>{{cite book|last=Kaplan|first=Stanley|url=https://archive.org/details/stanleyhkaplante00stan/page/30|title=Test Pilot: How I Broke Testing Barriers for Millions of Students and Caused a Sonic Boom in the Business of Education|date=2001|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-0743201681|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/stanleyhkaplante00stan/page/30 30–33]}}</ref> SAT [[test preparation|preparation]] has become a highly lucrative field.<ref>{{cite web|author=Research and Markets ltd|title=2009 Worldwide Exam Preparation & Tutoring Industry Report|url=http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/682204/2009_worldwide_exam_preparation_and_tutoring|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702155723/http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/682204/2009_worldwide_exam_preparation_and_tutoring|archive-date=July 2, 2010|access-date=June 12, 2009|website=researchandmarkets.com}}</ref> Many companies and organizations offer test preparation in the form of books, classes, online courses, and tutoring.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/can-a-free-sat-prep-class-ever-be-as-good-as-pricey-in-person-ones/2016/11/09/c3a6e3ac-875e-11e6-ac72-a29979381495_story.html |title=Can a free SAT prep class ever be as good as pricey in-person ones? |newspaper=The Washington Post |last=Gross |first=Natalie |date=November 10, 2016 |access-date=August 25, 2021 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125045750/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/can-a-free-sat-prep-class-ever-be-as-good-as-pricey-in-person-ones/2016/11/09/c3a6e3ac-875e-11e6-ac72-a29979381495_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The test preparation industry began almost simultaneously with the introduction of university entrance exams in the U.S. and flourished from the start.<ref name="Montgomery and Lilly 2012">{{cite journal|last1=Montgomery|first1=Paul|last2=Lilly|first2=Jane|year=2012|title=Systematic Reviews of the Effects of Preparatory Courses on University Entrance Examinations in High School-Age Students|journal=International Journal of Social Welfare|volume=21|issue=1|pages=3–12|doi=10.1111/j.1468-2397.2011.00812.x}}</ref> Test-preparation scams are a genuine problem for parents and students.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Carlton|first=Sue|date=March 31, 2021|title=Make sure that SAT test-prep service for your high-schooler isn't a scam|work=Tampa Bay Times|department=Crime|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2021/03/31/make-sure-that-sat-test-prep-service-for-your-high-schooler-isnt-a-scam/|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827001655/https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2021/03/31/make-sure-that-sat-test-prep-service-for-your-high-schooler-isnt-a-scam/|archive-date=August 27, 2021}}</ref> In general, East Asian Americans, especially [[Korean Americans]], are the most likely to take private SAT preparation courses while [[African Americans]] typically rely more one-on-one tutoring for [[Remedial education|remedial learning]].<ref name="Byun-2011">{{Cite journal|last1=Byun|first1=Soo-yong|last2=Park|first2=Hyunjoon|date=July 29, 2011|title=The Academic Success of East Asian American Youth: The Role of Shadow Education|journal=Sociology of Education|volume=85|issue=1|pages=40–60|doi=10.1177/0038040711417009|pmid=24163483|pmc=3806291}}</ref>

Nevertheless, the College Board maintains that the SAT is essentially uncoachable and research by the College Board and the National Association of College Admission Counseling suggests that tutoring courses result in an average increase of about 20 points on the math section and 10 points on the verbal section.<ref>{{cite web|author=Allen Grove|title=SAT Prep – Are SAT Prep Courses Worth the Cost?|url=http://collegeapps.about.com/od/sat/f/SAT-test-prep.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707074953/http://collegeapps.about.com/od/sat/f/SAT-test-prep.htm|archive-date=July 7, 2011|access-date=November 27, 2010|website=About.com Education}}</ref> Indeed, researchers have shown time and again that preparation courses tend to offer at best a modest boost to test scores.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Becker|first=Betsy Jane|date=Autumn 1990|title=Coaching for the Scholastic Aptitude Test: Further Synthesis and Appraisal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1170759|journal=Review of Educational Research|publisher=American Educational Research Association|volume=90|issue=3|pages=373–417|doi=10.3102/00346543060003373 |jstor=1170759|access-date=October 28, 2021|archive-date=October 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028173541/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1170759|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Powers|first1=Donald E.|last2=Rock|first2=Donald A.|date=Summer 1999|title=Effects of Coaching on SAT I: Reasoning Test Scores|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1435274|journal=Journal of Educational Measurement|publisher=National Council on Measurement in Education|volume=36|issue=2|pages=93–118|doi=10.1111/j.1745-3984.1999.tb00549.x|jstor=1435274|access-date=October 28, 2021|archive-date=October 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028164610/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1435274|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Wai-2019" /> Like IQ scores, which are a strong correlate, SAT scores tend to be stable over time, meaning SAT preparation courses offer only a limited advantage.<ref name="Hambrick-2011" /> An early meta-analysis (from 1983) found similar results and noted "the size of the coaching effect estimated from the matched or randomized studies (10 points) seems too small to be practically important."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=DerSimonian|first1=Rebecca|last2=Laird|first2=Nan|date=April 1983|title=Evaluating the Effect of Coaching on SAT Scores: A Meta-Analysis|journal=Harvard Educational Review|volume=53|issue=1|pages=1–15|doi=10.17763/haer.53.1.n06j5h5356217648}}</ref> Statisticians Ben Domingue and Derek C. Briggs examined data from the Education Longitudinal Survey of 2002 and found that the effects of coaching were only statistically significant for mathematics; moreover, coaching had a greater effect on certain students than others, especially those who have taken rigorous courses and those of high socioeconomic status.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Domigue|first1=Ben|last2=Briggs|first2=Derek C.|date=2009|title=Using Linear Regression and Propensity Score Matching to Estimate the Effect of Coaching on the SAT|url=https://cepa.stanford.edu/content/using-linear-regression-and-propensity-score-matching-estimate-effect-coaching-sat|journal=Multiple Linear Regression Viewpoints|volume=35|issue=1|pages=12–29|via=|access-date=January 31, 2021|archive-date=June 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604031706/https://cepa.stanford.edu/content/using-linear-regression-and-propensity-score-matching-estimate-effect-coaching-sat|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2012 [[systematic reviews|systematic literature review]] estimated a coaching effect of 23 and 32 points for the math and verbal tests, respectively.<ref name="Montgomery and Lilly 2012" /> A 2016 meta-analysis estimated the effect size to be 0.09 and 0.16 for the verbal and math sections respectively, although there was a large degree of heterogeneity.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Becker|first1=Betsy Jane|date=June 30, 2016|title=Coaching for the Scholastic Aptitude Test: Further Synthesis and Appraisal|journal=Review of Educational Research|volume=60|issue=3|pages=373–417|doi=10.3102/00346543060003373|s2cid=146476197}}</ref> Meanwhile, a 2011 study found that the effects of one-on-one tutoring to be minimal among all ethnic groups.<ref name="Byun-2011"/> Public misunderstanding of how to prepare for the SAT continues to be exploited by the preparation industry.<ref name="Frey-2019" />

While there is a link between family background and taking an SAT preparation course, not all students benefit equally from such an investment. In fact, any average gains in SAT scores due to such courses are primarily due to improvements among East Asian Americans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Park|first1=Julie J.|last2=Ann H.|first2=Becks|date=Fall 2015|title=Who Benefits from SAT Prep?: An Examination of High School Context and Race/Ethnicity|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/592485/pdf|journal=Review of Higher Education|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|volume=39|issue=1|pages=1–23|doi=10.1353/rhe.2015.0038|s2cid=145649282|access-date=January 5, 2022|archive-date=September 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909204506/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/592485/pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> When this group is broken down even further, Korean Americans are more likely to take SAT prep courses than [[Chinese Americans]], taking full advantage of their Church communities and ethnic economy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Park|first=Julie J.|date=August 1, 2012|title=It Takes a Village (or an Ethnic Economy): The Varying Roles of Socioeconomic Status, Religion, and Social Capital in SAT Preparation for Chinese and Korean American Students|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0002831211425609|journal=American Educational Research Journal|volume=49|issue=4|pages=624–650|doi=10.3102/0002831211425609|s2cid=143887760|access-date=January 5, 2022|archive-date=January 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105172210/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0002831211425609|url-status=live}}</ref>

The College Board announced a partnership with the non-profit organization Khan Academy to offer free test-preparation materials starting in the 2015–16 academic year to help level the playing field for students from low-income families.<ref name="Balf-2014">{{Cite news |last=Balf |first=Todd |date=March 5, 2014 |title=The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616181810/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html |archive-date=June 16, 2017 |access-date=June 21, 2017 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Anderson-2015" /> Students may also bypass costly preparation programs using the more affordable official guide from the College Board and with solid studying habits.<ref name="Shellenbarger-2009">{{Cite news|last=Shellenbarger|first=Sue|date=May 27, 2009|title=High-School Senior: I Took the SAT Again After 41 Years|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124337711110856009|url-status=live|access-date=February 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125203105/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124337711110856009|archive-date=January 25, 2021}}</ref>

The College Board also offers a test called the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test ([[PSAT/NMSQT]]), and there is some evidence that taking the PSAT at least once can help students do better on the SAT;<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldfarb|first=Zachary A.|date=March 5, 2014|title=These four charts show how the SAT favors rich, educated families|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/03/05/these-four-charts-show-how-the-sat-favors-the-rich-educated-families/|url-status=live|access-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216175125/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/03/05/these-four-charts-show-how-the-sat-favors-the-rich-educated-families/|archive-date=February 16, 2021}}</ref> moreover, like the case for the SAT, top scorers on the PSAT could earn scholarships.<ref name="Quilantan-2021" /> According to cognitive scientist [[Sian Beilock]], 'choking', or substandard performance on important occasions, such as taking the SAT, can be prevented by doing plenty of practice questions and proctored exams to improve [[procedural memory]], making use of the booklet to write down intermediate steps to avoid overloading working memory, and writing a diary entry about one's anxieties on the day of the exam to enhance self-empathy and positive self-image.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Steiner|first=Matty|date=August 22, 2014|title=Neuroscience and College Admission Tests|work=Compass|url=https://www.compassprep.com/neuroscience-and-college-admission-tests/|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-date=August 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827002539/https://www.compassprep.com/neuroscience-and-college-admission-tests/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Sleep hygiene]] is important as the quality of sleep during the days leading to the exam can improve performance. Moreover, it has been shown that later class times (8:30 am rather than 7:30am), which better suits the shifted circadian rhythm of teenagers, can raise SAT scores enough to change the tier of the colleges and universities student might be admitted to.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Matthew |title=Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams |title-link=Why We Sleep |publisher=Schribner |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-5011-4432-5 |location=New York |pages=310–11 |chapter=Chapter 15: Sleep and Society |author-link=Matthew Walker (scientist)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Budson |first1=Andrew |title=Why We Forget and How to Remember Better: The Science Behind Memory |last2=Kensinger |first2=Elizabeth |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-197-60773-2 |location=New York |pages=274 |chapter=20: Sleep |author-link=Andrew E. Budson |author-link2=Elizabeth Kensinger}}</ref>

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of American colleges and universities decided to make standardized test scores [[SAT#Optional SAT|optional]] for prospective students. Nevertheless, many students still chose to take the SAT and to enroll in preparation programs, which continued to be profitable.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Becker |first=Sam |date=April 17, 2024 |title=During test-optional college admissions, exam-prep companies still thrived |url=https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240416-test-optional-college-admissions-exam-prep-companies |access-date=April 17, 2024 |work=BBC News |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417145457/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240416-test-optional-college-admissions-exam-prep-companies |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Predictive validity and powers===
In 2009, education researchers Richard C. Atkinson and Saul Geiser from the [[University of California]] (UC) system argued that high school GPA is better than the SAT at predicting college grades regardless of high school type or quality.<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Atkinson| first1=R. C.| last2=Geiser| first2=S.| date=2009| title=Reflections on a Century of College Admissions Tests| url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/49z7127p| journal=Educational Researcher| volume=38| issue=9| pages=665–76| doi=10.3102/0013189x09351981| s2cid=15661086| access-date=September 10, 2018| archive-date=June 23, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623113300/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/49z7127p| url-status=live}}</ref> In its 2020 report, the UC academic senate found that the SAT was better than high school GPA at predicting first year GPA, and just as good as high school GPA at predicting undergraduate GPA, first year retention, and graduation.  This predictive validity was found to hold across demographic groups, with the report noting that standardized test scores were actually "better predictors of success for students who are Underrepresented Minority students (URMs), who are first-generation, or whose families are low-income."<ref name="Bhavnani-2020">{{cite web| date=Jan 2020| title=Report of the UC Academic Council Standardized Testing Task Force (STTF)| url=https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/underreview/sttf-report.pdf| quote=At UC, test scores are currently better predictors of first-year GPA than high school grade point average (HSGPA), and about as good at predicting first-year retention, UGPA, and graduation.³ For students within any given (HSGPA) band, higher standardized test scores correlate with a higher freshman UGPA, a higher graduation UGPA, and higher likelihood of graduating within either four years (for transfers) or seven years (for freshmen). Further, the amount of variance in student outcomes explained by test scores has increased since 2007, while variance explained by high school grades has decreased, although altogether does not exceed 26%. Test scores are predictive for all demographic groups and disciplines, even after controlling for HSGPA. In fact, test scores are better predictors of success for students who are Underrepresented Minority students (URMs), who are first-generation, or whose families are low-income.| access-date=August 27, 2020| archive-date=September 14, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914013351/https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/underreview/sttf-report.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> A series of College Board reports point to similar predictive validity across demographic groups.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kobrin|first1=Jennifer L.|last2=Patterson|first2=Brian F.|last3=Shaw|first3=Emily J.|last4=Mattern|first4=Krista D.|last5=Barbuti|first5=Sandra M.|date=2008|title=Validity of the SAT® for Predicting First-Year College Grade Point Average. Research Report No. 2008-5|url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED563202|access-date=|publisher=College Board|language=en|archive-date=August 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821181113/https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED563202|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Burton|first1=Nancy W.|last2=Ramist|first2=Leonard|date=2001|title=Predicting Success in College: SAT® Studies of Classes Graduating since 1980. Research Report No. 2001-2|url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED562836|access-date=|publisher=College Entrance Examination Board|language=en|archive-date=April 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406154715/https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED562836|url-status=live}}</ref>

But a month after the UC academic senate report, Saul Geiser disputed the UC academic senate's findings, saying "that the Senate claims are 'spurious', based on a fundamental error of omitting student demographics in the prediction model". Indicating when high school GPA is combined with demographics in the prediction, the SAT is less reliable. [[Li Cai (psychometrician)|Li Cai]], a [[UCLA]] professor who directs the [[National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing]], indicated that the UC Academic Senate did include student demographics by using a different and simpler model for the public to understand and that the discriminatory impacts of the SAT are compensated during the admissions process. [[Jesse Rothstein]], a [[UC Berkeley]] professor of public policy and economics, countered Li's claim, mentioning that the UC academic senate "got a lot of things wrong about the SAT", overstates the value of the SAT, and "no basis for its conclusion that UC admissions 'compensate' for test score gaps between groups."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Watanabe |first=Teresa |date=March 19, 2020 |title=Report bolsters idea of dropping SAT, ACT tests for UC admission |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-19/uc-admissions-sat-act-new-paper-bolsters-idea-of-dropping-tests |access-date=August 29, 2023 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |archive-date=August 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829205355/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-19/uc-admissions-sat-act-new-paper-bolsters-idea-of-dropping-tests |url-status=live }}</ref> However, by analyzing their own institutional data, [[Brown University|Brown]], [[Yale University|Yale]], and [[Dartmouth College|Dartmouth]] universities reached the conclusion that SAT scores are more reliable predictors of collegiate success than GPA. Furthermore, the scores allow them to identify ''more'' potentially qualified students from disadvantaged backgrounds than they otherwise would.<ref name=":4" /> At the [[University of Texas at Austin]], students who declined to submit SAT scores when such scores were optional performed more poorly than their peers who did.<ref name=":4" /> These results were replicated by a study conducted by the non-profit organization Opportunity Insights analyzing data from Ivy League institutions (Brown University, [[Columbia University]], [[Cornell University]], Dartmouth College, [[Harvard University]], [[Princeton University]], the [[University of Pennsylvania]], and Yale University) plus [[Stanford University]], the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], and the [[University of Chicago]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Friedman |first1=John |last2=Sacerdote |first2=Bruce |last3=Tine |first3=Michele |date=January 2024 |title=Standardized Test Scores and Academic Performance at Ivy-Plus Colleges |url=https://opportunityinsights.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SAT_ACT_on_Grades.pdf |access-date=June 7, 2024 |website=Opportunity Insights |archive-date=June 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240608210050/https://opportunityinsights.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SAT_ACT_on_Grades.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":4" /> A 2009 study found that SAT or ACT scores along with high-school GPAs are strong predictors of cumulative university GPAs. In particular, those with standardized test scores in the 50th percentile or better had a two-thirds chance of having a cumulative university GPA in the top half.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schmitt |first1=Neal |last2=Keeney |first2=Jessica |last3=Oswald |first3=Frederick L. |last4=Pleskac |first4=Timothy J. |last5=Billington |first5=Abigail Q. |last6=Sinha |first6=Ruchi |last7=Zorzie |first7=Mark |date=November 2009 |title=Prediction of 4-year college student performance using cognitive and noncognitive predictors and the impact on demographic status of admitted students |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19916657/ |url-status=live |journal=Journal of Applied Psychology |volume=96 |issue=4 |pages=1479–97 |doi=10.1037/a0016810 |pmid=19916657 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831154505/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19916657/ |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |access-date=August 31, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Hambrick-2014" /> A 2010 meta-analysis by researchers from the [[University of Minnesota]] offered evidence that standardized admissions tests such as the SAT predicted not only freshman GPA but also overall collegiate GPA.<ref name="Kuncel-2010" /><ref name="Hambrick-2011" /> A 2012 study from the same university using a multi-institutional data set revealed that even after controlling for socioeconomic status and high-school GPA, SAT scores were still as capable of predicting freshman GPA among university or college students.<ref name="Sackett-2012">{{Cite journal |last1=Sackett |first1=Paul R. |last2=Kuncel |first2=Nathan R. |last3=Beatty |first3=Adam S. |last4=Rigdon |first4=Jana L. |last5=Shen |first5=Winny |last6=Kiger |first6=Thomas B. |date=August 2, 2012 |title=The Role of Socioeconomic Status in SAT-Grade Relationships and in College Admissions Decisions |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797612438732 |url-status=live |journal=Psychological Science |publisher=Association for Psychological Science |volume=23 |issue=9 |pages=1000–1007 |doi=10.1177/0956797612438732 |pmid=22858524 |s2cid=22703783 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309214619/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797612438732 |archive-date=March 9, 2021 |access-date=February 2, 2021 |via=}}</ref> A 2019 study with a sample size of around a quarter of a million students suggests that together, SAT scores and high-school GPA offer an excellent predictor of freshman collegiate GPA and second-year retention.<ref name="Frey-2019" /> In 2018, psychologists Oren R. Shewach, Kyle D. McNeal, Nathan R. Kuncel, and Paul R. Sackett showed that both high-school GPA and SAT scores predict enrollment in advanced collegiate courses, even after controlling for [[Advanced Placement]] credits.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shewach |first1=Oren R. |last2=McNeal |first2=Kyle D. |last3=Kuncel |first3=Nathan R. |last4=Sackett |first4=Paul R. |date=2019 |title=Bunny Hill or Black Diamond: Differences in Advanced Course-Taking in College as a Function of Cognitive Ability and High School GPA |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/emip.12212 |journal=Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice |publisher=National Council on Measurement in Education |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=25–35 |doi=10.1111/emip.12212 |s2cid=96513319 |via=}}</ref><ref name="Frey-2019" />

Education economist Jesse M. Rothstein indicated in 2005 that high-school average SAT scores were better at predicting freshman university GPAs compared to individual SAT scores. In other words, a student's SAT scores were not as informative with regards to future academic success as his or her high school's average. In contrast, individual high-school GPAs were a better predictor of collegiate success than average high-school GPAs.<ref name="Zwick-2007" /><ref name="Rothstein-2005">{{Cite journal |last=Rothstein |first=Jesse |date=2005 |title=SAT Scores, High Schools, and Collegiate Performance Predictions |url=http://eml.berkeley.edu/%7Ejrothst/restingpapers/satpaper2_june2009.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Annual Meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education, Montreal. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515174519/https://eml.berkeley.edu/~jrothst/restingpapers/satpaper2_june2009.pdf |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |access-date=February 18, 2021}}</ref> Furthermore, an admissions officer who failed to take average SAT scores into account would risk overestimating the future performance of a student from a low-scoring school and underestimating that of a student from a high-scoring school.<ref name="Rothstein-2005" />

While the SAT is correlated with intelligence and as such estimates individual differences, it does not have anything to say about "effective cognitive performance" or what intelligent people do.<ref name="Frey-2019" /> Nor does it measure non-cognitive traits associated with academic success such as positive attitudes or [[conscientiousness]].<ref name="Frey-2019" /><ref name="Kuncel-2010">{{Cite journal|last1=Kuncel|first1=Nathan R.|last2=Hezlett|first2=Sarah A.|date=December 14, 2010|title=Fact and Fiction in Cognitive Ability Testing for Admissions and Hiring Decisions|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963721410389459|journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science|publisher=Association for Psychological Science|volume=19|issue=6|pages=339–345|doi=10.1177/0963721410389459|s2cid=33313110|access-date=March 2, 2021|archive-date=March 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316130329/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963721410389459|url-status=live}}</ref> Psychometricians Thomas R. Coyle and David R. Pillow showed in 2008 that the SAT predicts college GPA even after removing the general factor of intelligence (''g''), with which it is highly correlated.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Coyle|first1=Thomas R.|last2=Pillow|first2=David R.|date=2008|title=SAT and ACT predict college GPA after removing g|url=|journal=Intelligence|volume=26|issue=6|pages=719–729|doi=10.1016/j.intell.2008.05.001}}</ref>

Like other standardized tests such as the ACT or the GRE, the SAT is a traditional method for assessing the academic aptitude of students who have had vastly different educational experiences and as such is focused on the common materials that the students could reasonably be expected to have encountered throughout the course of study. As such the mathematics section contains no materials above the [[precalculus]] level, for instance. Psychologist [[Raymond Cattell]] referred to this as testing for "historical" rather than "current" [[Fluid and crystallized intelligence|crystallized intelligence]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ackerman|first=Philip L.|url=http://www.cambridge.org/9781316629642|title=The Nature of Human Intelligence|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-1-107-17657-7|editor-last=Sternberg|editor-first=Robert|location=|pages=|chapter=Chapter 1: Intelligence as Potentiality and Actuality|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821181135/https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/psychology/cognition/nature-human-intelligence?format=PB&isbn=9781316629642|url-status=live}}</ref> Psychologist [[Scott Barry Kaufman]] further noted that the SAT can only measure a snapshot of a person's performance at a particular moment in time.<ref name="Kaufman-2018">{{Cite web|last=Kaufman|first=Scott Barry|date=September 4, 2018|title=IQ and Society|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/iq-and-society/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930090158/https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/iq-and-society/|archive-date=September 30, 2020|access-date=March 1, 2021|website=Scientific American}}</ref> Educational psychologists Jonathan Wai, David Lubinski, and Camilla Benbow observed that one way to increase the predictive validity of the SAT is by assessing the student's [[Spatial ability|spatial reasoning ability]], as the SAT at present does not contain any questions to that effect. Spatial reasoning skills are important for success in STEM.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wai|first1=Jonathan|last2=Lubinski|first2=David|last3=Benbow|first3=Camilla|date=2009|title=Spatial Ability for STEM Domains: Aligning Over 50 Years of Cumulative Psychological Knowledge Solidifies Its Importance|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/56143/spatial-ability-stem-domains.pdf|journal=Journal of Educational Psychology|publisher=American Psychological Association|volume=101|issue=4|pages=817–835|doi=10.1037/a0016127|s2cid=17233758 |via=}}</ref> A 2006 study led by psychometrician [[Robert Sternberg]] found that the ability of SAT scores and high-school GPAs to predict collegiate performance could further be enhanced by additional assessments of analytical, [[Creativity|creative]], and practical thinking.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sternberg|first1=Robert|collaboration=The Rainbow Project Collaborators|date=July–August 2006|title=The Rainbow Project: Enhancing the SAT through assessments of analytical, practical, and creative skills|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016028960600002X|journal=Intelligence|volume=34|issue=4|pages=321–350|doi=10.1016/j.intell.2006.01.002|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826214033/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016028960600002X|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Dance-2021">{{Cite news|last=Dance|first=Amber|date=July 15, 2021|title=Has the Pandemic Put an End to the SAT and ACT?|work=Smithsonian Magazine|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/has-pandemic-put-end-to-sat-act-180978167/|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826214036/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/has-pandemic-put-end-to-sat-act-180978167/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Experimental psychologist Meredith Frey noted that while advances in education research and neuroscience can help incrementally improve the ability to predict scholastic achievement in the future, the SAT or other standardized tests likely will remain a valuable tool to build upon.<ref name="Frey-2019" /> In a 2014 op-ed for ''The New York Times'', psychologist John D. Mayer called the predictive powers of the SAT "an astonishing achievement" and cautioned against making it and other standardized tests optional.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mayer|first=John D.|date=March 10, 2014|title=We Need More Tests, Not Fewer|work=The New York Times|department=Op-ed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/opinion/we-need-more-tests-not-fewer.html|access-date=August 31, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829212438/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/opinion/we-need-more-tests-not-fewer.html|archive-date=August 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Hambrick-2014" /> [[#By researchers|Research]] by psychometricians David Lubinsky, Camilla Benbow, and their colleagues has shown that the SAT could even predict life outcomes beyond university.<ref name="Hambrick-2014" />

=== Difficulty and relative weight ===
The SAT rigorously assesses students' mental stamina, memory, speed, accuracy, and capacity for abstract and analytical reasoning.<ref name="Shellenbarger-2009" /> For American universities and colleges, standardized test scores are the most important factor in admissions, second only to high-school GPAs.<ref name="Dance-2021" /> By international standards, however, the SAT is not that difficult.<ref name="Turner-2014">{{Cite news|last=Turner|first=Cory|date=April 30, 2014|title=U.S. Tests Teens A Lot, But Worldwide, Exam Stakes Are Higher|work=NPR|department=Education|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/04/30/308057862/u-s-tests-teens-a-lot-but-worldwide-exam-stakes-are-higher|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826223338/https://www.npr.org/2014/04/30/308057862/u-s-tests-teens-a-lot-but-worldwide-exam-stakes-are-higher|url-status=live}}</ref> For example, South Korea's College Scholastic Ability Test ([[College Scholastic Ability Test|CSAT]]) and Finland's [[Matriculation exam (Finland)|Matriculation Examination]] are both longer, tougher, and count for more towards the admissibility of a student to university.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ripley|first=Amanda|date=March 12, 2014|title=The New SAT Doesn't Come Close to the World's Best Tests|work=Time Magazine|url=https://time.com/18686/the-new-sat-doesnt-come-close-to-the-worlds-best-tests/|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918120137/https://time.com/18686/the-new-sat-doesnt-come-close-to-the-worlds-best-tests/|archive-date=September 18, 2020}}</ref> In many countries around the world, exams, including university entrance exams, are the sole deciding factor of admission; school grades are simply irrelevant.<ref name="Turner-2014" /> In China and India, doing well on the [[Gaokao]] or the [[IIT JEE|IIT-JEE]], respectively, enhances the [[social status]] of the students and their families.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Salaky|first=Kristin|date=September 5, 2018|title=What standardized tests look like in 10 places around the world|work=Insider|url=https://www.insider.com/standardized-tests-around-the-world-2018-9|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-date=October 19, 2022|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20221019013305/https://www.insider.com/standardized%2Dtests%2Daround%2Dthe%2Dworld%2D2018%2D9|url-status=live}}</ref>

In an article from 2012, educational psychologist Jonathan Wai argued that the SAT was too easy to be useful to the most competitive of colleges and universities, whose applicants typically had brilliant high-school GPAs and standardized test scores. Admissions officers therefore had the burden of differentiating the top scorers from one another, not knowing whether or not the students' perfect or near-perfect scores truly reflected their scholastic aptitudes. He suggested that the College Board make the SAT more difficult, which would raise the measurement ceiling of the test, allowing the top schools to identify the best and brightest among the applicants.<ref name="Wai-2012-1">{{Cite news|last=Wai|first=Jonathan|date=July 24, 2012|title=The SAT Needs to Be Harder|work=Education Week|department=Commentary|url=https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-the-sat-needs-to-be-harder/2012/07|url-status=live|access-date=February 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218182622/https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-the-sat-needs-to-be-harder/2012/07|archive-date=February 18, 2021}}</ref> At that time, the College Board was already working on making the SAT tougher.<ref name="Wai-2012-1" /> The changes were announced in 2014 and implemented in 2016.<ref name="Zoroya-2014">{{Cite news|last=Zoroya|first=Gregg|date=March 6, 2014|title=Sharpen those pencils: The SAT test is getting harder|work=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/05/sat-college-board-redesign-college-entrance-exam/6078091/|access-date=February 18, 2021|archive-date=April 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418173714/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/05/sat-college-board-redesign-college-entrance-exam/6078091/|url-status=live}}</ref>

After realizing the June 2018 test was easier than usual, the College Board made adjustments resulting in lower-than-expected scores, prompting complaints from the students, though some understood this was to ensure fairness.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Popken|first=Ben|date=July 13, 2018|title=Easy SAT has students crying over 'shocking' low scores|work=NBC News|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/easy-sat-has-students-crying-over-shocking-low-scores-n891036|access-date=February 18, 2021|archive-date=February 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228161529/https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/easy-sat-has-students-crying-over-shocking-low-scores-n891036|url-status=live}}</ref> In its analysis of the incident, the Princeton Review supported the idea of curving grades, but pointed out that the test was incapable of distinguishing students in the 86th percentile (650 points) or higher in mathematics. The Princeton Review also noted that this particular curve was unusual in that it offered no cushion against careless or last-minute mistakes for high-achieving students.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jaschik|first=Scott|date=July 12, 2018|title=An 'Easy' SAT and Terrible Scores|work=Inside Higher Education|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/12/surprisingly-low-scores-mathematics-sat-stun-and-anger-students|access-date=February 18, 2021|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414005557/https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/12/surprisingly-low-scores-mathematics-sat-stun-and-anger-students|url-status=live}}</ref> The Review posted a similar blog post for the SAT of August 2019, when a similar incident happened and the College Board responded in the same manner, noting, "A student who misses two questions on an easier test should not get as good a score as a student who misses two questions on a hard test. Equating takes care of that issue." It also cautioned students against retaking the SAT immediately, for they might be disappointed again, and recommended that instead, they give themselves some "leeway" before trying again.<ref>{{Cite web|last=The Staff of the Princeton Review|date=2019|title=Why You Shouldn't Want an "Easy" SAT|url=https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/no-to-easy-sat|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028150336/https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/no-to-easy-sat|archive-date=October 28, 2020|access-date=February 19, 2021|website=Princeton Review}}</ref>

=== Recognition ===
The College Board claims that outside of the United States, the SAT is considered for university admissions in approximately 70 countries, as of the 2023–24 academic year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=College Board |date=2023 |title=The SAT: Overview for International Counselors |url=https://international.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/sat-overview-international-counselors.pdf |access-date=April 12, 2024}}</ref>

=== Association with general cognitive ability ===
In a 2000 study, psychometrician Ann M. Gallagher and her colleagues found that only the top students made use of [[Intuition|intuitive reasoning]] in solving problems encountered on the mathematics section of the SAT.<ref name="Gallagher-2000" /> Cognitive psychologists Brenda Hannon and Mary McNaughton-Cassill discovered that having a good [[working memory]], the ability of [[knowledge integration]], and low levels of [[test anxiety]] predicts high performance on the SAT.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hannon|first1=Brenda|last2=McNaughton-Cassill|first2=Mary|date=July 27, 2011|title=SAT Performance: Understanding the Contributions of Cognitive/Learning and Social/Personality Factors|journal=Applied Cognitive Psychology|volume=25|issue=4|pages=528–535|doi=10.1002/acp.1725|pmid=21804694|pmc=3144549}}</ref>

Frey and Detterman (2004) investigated associations of SAT scores with intelligence test scores. Using an estimate of [[g factor (psychometrics)|general mental ability]], or ''g'', based on the [[Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery]], they found SAT scores to be highly correlated with ''g'' (r=.82 in their sample, .857 when adjusted for non-linearity) in their sample taken from a 1979 national probability survey. Additionally, they investigated the correlation between SAT results, using the revised and recentered form of the test, and scores on the [[Raven's Progressive Matrices|Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices]], a test of [[fluid intelligence]] (reasoning), this time using a non-random sample.  They found that the correlation of SAT results with scores on the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices was .483, they estimated that this correlation would have been about 0.72 were it not for the [[Correlation and dependence#Sensitivity to the data distribution|restriction of ability range]] in the sample. They also noted that there appeared to be a [[Ceiling effect (statistics)|ceiling effect]] on the Raven's scores which may have suppressed the correlation.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Frey|first1=M.C.|last2=Detterman|first2=D.K.|year=2004|title=Scholastic Assessment or ''g''? The Relationship Between the Scholastic Assessment Test and General Cognitive Ability|url=https://www.gwern.net/docs/iq/2004-frey.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Psychological Science|volume=15|issue=6|pages=373–78|doi=10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00687.x|pmid=15147489|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805235215/https://www.gwern.net/docs/iq/2004-frey.pdf|archive-date=August 5, 2019|access-date=September 10, 2019|s2cid=12724085}}</ref> Beaujean and colleagues (2006) have reached similar conclusions to those reached by Frey and Detterman.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Beaujean|first1=A.A.|last2=Firmin|first2=M.W.|last3=Knoop|first3=A.|last4=Michonski|first4=D.|last5=Berry|first5=T.B.|last6=Lowrie|first6=R.E.|year=2006|title=Validation of the Frey and Detterman (2004) IQ prediction equations using the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales|url=http://www.iapsych.com/articles/beaujean2006.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=Personality and Individual Differences|volume=41|issue=2|pages=353–57|doi=10.1016/j.paid.2006.01.014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713001038/http://www.iapsych.com/articles/beaujean2006.pdf|archive-date=July 13, 2011}}</ref> Because the SAT is strongly correlated with general intelligence, it can be used as a proxy to measure intelligence, especially when the time-consuming traditional methods of assessment are unavailable.<ref name="Frey-2019" />

Psychometrician [[Linda Gottfredson]] noted that the SAT is effective at identifying [[Intellectual giftedness|intellectually gifted]] college-bound students.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gottfredson|first=Linda|url=https://www.cambridge.org/9781316629642|title=The Nature of Human Intelligence|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-1-107-17657-7|editor-last=Sternberg|editor-first=Robert J.|location=|pages=|chapter=9: ''g'' Theory - How Recurring Variation in Human Intelligence and the Complexity of Everyday Tasks Create Social Structure and the Democratic Dilemma|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821181646/https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/psychology/cognition/nature-human-intelligence?format=PB&isbn=9781316629642|url-status=live}}</ref>

For decades many critics have accused designers of the verbal SAT of cultural bias as an explanation for the disparity in scores between poorer and wealthier test-takers,<ref>{{cite book|last=Zwick|first=Rebecca|url=https://archive.org/details/rethinkingsatfut00zwic|title=Rethinking the SAT: The Future of Standardized Testing in University Admissions|publisher=RoutledgeFalmer|year=2004|isbn=978-0-415-94835-7|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rethinkingsatfut00zwic/page/n225 203]–04|url-access=limited}}</ref> with the biggest critics coming from the University of California system.<ref name="Chicago Tribune-2003">{{Cite news|date=August 11, 2003|title=Ditching dreaded SAT analogies|work=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2003-08-11-0308110131-story.html|access-date=March 1, 2021|archive-date=May 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518035051/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2003-08-11-0308110131-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CBHistorical">{{cite web |url=http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/RR-03-10-Lawrence.pdf |title=Research Report No. 2003-3: A Historical Perspective on the Content of the SAT |year=2003 |access-date=June 1, 2014 |last1=Lawrence |first1=Ida |last2=Rigol |first2=Gretchen W. |last3=Van Essen |first3=Thomas |last4=Jackson |first4=Carol A. |publisher=College Entrance Examination Board |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605052134/http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/RR-03-10-Lawrence.pdf |archive-date=June 5, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> A famous example of this perceived bias in the SAT I was the [[oarsman]]–[[regatta]] analogy question, which is no longer part of the exam. The object of the question was to find the pair of terms that had the relationship most similar to the relationship between "runner" and "marathon". The correct answer was "oarsman" and "regatta". The choice of the correct answer was thought to have presupposed students' familiarity with [[rowing (sport)|rowing]], a sport popular with the wealthy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Garfield|first=Leslie|date=September 1, 2006|title=The Cost of Good Intentions: Why the Supreme Court's Decision Upholding Affirmative Action Admission Programs Is Detrimental to the Cause|url=https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/plr/vol27/iss1/2|url-status=live|journal=Pace Law Review|volume=27|issue=1|pages=15|issn=0272-2410|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904180935/https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/plr/vol27/iss1/2/|archive-date=September 4, 2019|access-date=September 4, 2019}}</ref> However, for psychometricians, analogy questions are a useful tool to gauge the mental abilities of students, for, even if the meaning of two words are unclear, a student with sufficiently strong analytical thinking skills should still be able to identify their relationships.<ref name="Chicago Tribune-2003" /> Analogy questions were removed in 2005.<ref name="Daily Nexus-2002" /> In their place are questions that provide more contextual information should the students be ignorant of the relevant definition of a word, making it easier for them to guess the correct answer.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lindsay|first=Samantha|date=January 6, 2019|title=SAT Analogies and Comparisons: Why Were They Removed, and What Replaced Them?|url=https://blog.prepscholar.com/sat-analogies-and-comparisons-why-removed-what-replaced-them|access-date=March 1, 2021|website=PrepScholar|archive-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216010909/https://blog.prepscholar.com/sat-analogies-and-comparisons-why-removed-what-replaced-them|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Association with college or university majors and rankings ===
In 2010, physicists Stephen Hsu and James Schombert of the University of Oregon examined five years of student records at their school and discovered that the academic standing of students majoring in mathematics or physics (but not biology, English, sociology, or history) was strongly dependent on SAT mathematics scores. Students with SAT mathematics scores below 600 were highly unlikely to excel as a mathematics or physics major. Nevertheless, they found no such patterns between the SAT verbal, or combined SAT verbal and mathematics and the other aforementioned subjects.<ref>{{cite arXiv|eprint=1011.0663|first1=Stephen|last1=Hsu|first2=James|last2=Shombert|title=Nonlinear Psychometric Thresholds for Physics and Mathematics|date=November 2010|pages=|class=physics.ed-ph}}</ref><ref name="Wai-2015">{{Cite news|last=Wai|first=Jonathan|date=February 3, 2015|title=Your college major is a pretty good indication of how smart you are|work=Quartz|url=http://qz.com/334926/your-college-major-is-a-pretty-good-indication-of-how-smart-you-are/|url-status=live|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116221413/http://qz.com/334926/your-college-major-is-a-pretty-good-indication-of-how-smart-you-are/|archive-date=January 16, 2020}}</ref>

In 2015, educational psychologist Jonathan Wai of Duke University analyzed average test scores from the [[Army General Classification Test]] in 1946 (10,000 students), the Selective Service College Qualification Test in 1952 (38,420), [[Project Talent]] in the early 1970s (400,000), the [[Graduate Record Examinations|Graduate Record Examination]] between 2002 and 2005 (over 1.2 million), and the SAT Math and Verbal in 2014 (1.6 million). Wai identified one consistent pattern: those with the highest test scores tended to pick the physical sciences and engineering as their majors while those with the lowest were more likely to choose education and agriculture. (See figure below.)<ref name="Wai-2015"/><ref>{{Cite news|last=Crew|first=Bec|date=February 16, 2015|title=Your College Major Can Be a Pretty Good Indication of How Smart You Are|work=Science Magazine|department=Humans|url=https://www.sciencealert.com/your-college-major-can-be-a-pretty-good-indication-of-how-smart-you-are|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206080645/https://www.sciencealert.com/your-college-major-can-be-a-pretty-good-indication-of-how-smart-you-are|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Uni Major and SAT Averages.png|center]]A 2020 paper by Laura H. Gunn and her colleagues examining data from 1389 institutions across the United States unveiled strong positive correlations between the average SAT percentiles of incoming students and the shares of graduates majoring in STEM and the social sciences. On the other hand, they found negative correlations between the former and the shares of graduates in psychology, theology, law enforcement, recreation and fitness.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gunn|first1=Laura H.|last2=ter Horst|first2=Enrique|last3=Markossian|first3=Talar|last4=Molina|first4=German|date=May 13, 2020|title=Associations between majors of graduating seniors and average SATs of incoming students within higher education in the U.S.|pmc=7266786|journal=Heliyon|volume=6|issue=5|pages=e03956|doi=10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03956|doi-access=free |pmid=32514476|bibcode=2020Heliy...603956G }}</ref>

Various researchers have established that average SAT or ACT scores and college ranking in the ''U.S. News & World Report'' are highly correlated, almost 0.9.<ref name="Frey-2019">{{Cite journal|last=Frey|first=Meredith C.|date=December 2019|title=What We Know, Are Still Getting Wrong, and Have Yet to Learn about the Relationships among the SAT, Intelligence and Achievement|pmc=6963451|journal=Journal of Intelligence|volume=7|issue=4|pages=26|doi=10.3390/jintelligence7040026|pmid=31810191|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wai|first1=Jonathan|last2=Brown|first2=Matt I.|last3=Chabris|first3=Christopher F.|date=2018|title=Using Standardized Test Scores to Include General Cognitive Ability in Education Research and Policy|journal=Journal of Intelligence|volume=6|issue=3|pages=37|doi=10.3390/jintelligence6030037|pmid=31162464|pmc=6480800|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Wai-2019">{{Cite news|last1=Wai|first1=Jonathan|last2=Brown|first2=Matt|last3=Chabris|first3=Christopher|date=2019|title=No one likes the SAT. It's still the fairest thing about admissions.|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/no-one-likes-the-sat-its-still-the-fairest-thing-about-admissions/2019/03/22/5fa67a16-4c00-11e9-b79a-961983b7e0cd_story.html|url-status=live|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117190723/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/no-one-likes-the-sat-its-still-the-fairest-thing-about-admissions/2019/03/22/5fa67a16-4c00-11e9-b79a-961983b7e0cd_story.html|archive-date=November 17, 2020}}</ref>{{Efn|Depending on the author, there might be a negative sign. This comes from the fact that the higher the rank, the smaller the number of that rank.|name=|group=}} Between the 1980s and the 2010s, the U.S. population grew while universities and colleges did not expand their capacities as substantially. As a result, admissions rates fell considerably, meaning it has become more difficult to get admitted to a school whose alumni include one's parents. On top of that, high-scoring students nowadays are much more likely to leave their hometowns in pursuit of higher education at prestigious institutions. Consequently, standardized tests, such as the SAT, are a more reliable measure of selectivity than admissions rates. Still, when Michael J. Petrilli and Pedro Enamorado analyzed the SAT composite scores (math and verbal) of incoming freshman classes of 1985 and 2016 of the top universities and liberal arts colleges in the United States, they found that the median scores of new students increased by 93 points for their sample, from 1216 to 1309. In particular, fourteen institutions saw an increase of at least 150 points, including the University of Notre-Dame (from 1290 to 1440, or 150 points) and Elon College (from 952 to 1192, or 240 points).<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Petrilli|first1=Michael J.|last2=Enamorado|first2=Pedro|date=March 24, 2020|title=Yes, It Really Is Harder to Get into Highly Selective Colleges Today|work=Education Next|url=https://www.educationnext.org/yes-it-really-is-harder-to-get-into-highly-selective-colleges-today-comparison-sat-scores-over-time/|url-status=live|access-date=February 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024195730/https://www.educationnext.org/yes-it-really-is-harder-to-get-into-highly-selective-colleges-today-comparison-sat-scores-over-time/|archive-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref>

=== Association with types of schooling ===
While there seems to be evidence that private schools tend to produce students who do better on standardized tests such as the ACT or the SAT, Keven Duncan and Jonathan Sandy showed, using data from the [[National Longitudinal Survey of Youth|National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth]], that when student characteristics, such as age, [[#Association with race and ethnicity|race]], and [[#Sex differences|sex]] (7%), [[#Association with family structures|family background]] (45%), [[#Association with educational and societal standings and outcomes|school quality]] (26%), and other factors were taken into account, the advantage of private schools diminished by 78%. The researchers concluded that students attending private schools already had the attributes associated with high scores on their own.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Duncan|first1=Keven C.|last2=Sandy|first2=Jonathan|date=Spring 2007|title=Explaining the Performance Gap between Public and Private School Students|journal=Eastern Economic Journal|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan Journals|volume=33|issue=2|pages=177–191|doi=10.1057/eej.2007.16|jstor=20642346|s2cid=55272711|url=http://web.holycross.edu/RePEc/eej/Archive/Volume33/V33N2P177_191.pdf|access-date=June 19, 2021|archive-date=July 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706161207/https://web.holycross.edu/RePEc/eej/Archive/Volume33/V33N2P177_191.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Association with educational and societal standings and outcomes ===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="250">
File:1995-SAT-Income2.png
File:1995-SAT-Education2.png
</gallery>Research from the University of California system published in 2001 analyzing data of their undergraduates between Fall 1996 through Fall 1999, inclusive, found that the SAT II{{efn|Known as the SAT Subject Tests since 2005, discontinued in 2021.|name=SAT-subj|group=}} was the single best predictor of collegiate success in the sense of freshman GPA, followed by high-school GPA, and finally the SAT I. After controlling for family income and parental education, the already low ability of the SAT to measure aptitude and college readiness fell sharply while the more substantial aptitude and college readiness measuring abilities of high school GPA and the SAT II each remained undiminished (and even slightly increased). The University of California system required both the SAT I and the SAT II from applicants to the UC system during the four academic years of the study.<ref name="auto">{{Citation|last1=Geiser|first1=Saul|title=UC and the SAT: Predictive Validity and Differential Impact of the SAT I ad SAT II at the University of California|date=October 29, 2001|url=https://web.stanford.edu/~rag/ed351B/sat_study.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305072123/https://web.stanford.edu/~rag/ed351B/sat_study.pdf|publisher=University of California, Office of the President.|access-date=September 30, 2014|archive-date=March 5, 2016|last2=Studley|first2=Roger|url-status=live}}</ref> This analysis is heavily publicized but is contradicted by many studies.<ref name="Kuncel-2010" />

There is evidence that the SAT is correlated with societal and educational outcomes,<ref name="Kaufman-2018" /> including finishing a four-year university program.<ref name="Blandin-2018" /> A 2012 paper from psychologists at the University of Minnesota analyzing multi-institutional data sets suggested that the SAT maintained its ability to predict collegiate performance even after controlling for socioeconomic status (as measured by the combination of parental educational attainment and income) and high-school GPA. This means that SAT scores were not merely a proxy for measuring socioeconomic status, the researchers concluded.<ref name="Sackett-2012" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Novotney|first=Amy|date=December 2012|title=Psychologists debate the meaning of students' falling SAT scores|work=APA Monitor|url=https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/12/failing-scores|access-date=February 2, 2021|archive-date=May 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517193006/https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/12/failing-scores|url-status=live}}</ref> This finding has been replicated and shown to hold across racial or ethnic groups and for both sexes.<ref name="Frey-2019" /> Moreover, the Minnesota researchers found that the socioeconomic status distributions of the student bodies of the schools examined reflected those of their respective applicant pools.<ref name="Sackett-2012" /> Because of what it measures, a person's SAT scores cannot be separated from their socioeconomic background.<ref name="Kaufman-2018" /> However, the correlation between SAT scores and parental income or socioeconomic status [[Correlation does not imply causation|should not be taken to mean causation]]. It could be that high scorers have intelligent parents who work cognitively demanding jobs and as such earn higher salaries.<ref name=PinkerTrouble>{{Cite magazine |last=Pinker |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Pinker |date=September 4, 2014 |title=The Trouble With Harvard |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/119321/harvard-ivy-league-should-judge-students-standardized-tests |magazine=The New Republic |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210526224259/https://newrepublic.com/article/119321/harvard-ivy-league-should-judge-students-standardized-tests |archive-date=May 26, 2021 |access-date=July 9, 2023}}</ref> In addition, the correlation is only significant between biological families, not adoptive ones, suggesting that this might be due to [[Heritability of IQ|genetic heritage]], not economic wealth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Wendy |last2=McGue |first2=Matt |author-link2=Matt McGue |last3=Iacono |first3=William G. |date=November–December 2007 |title=Socioeconomic status and school grades: Placing their association in broader context in a sample of biological and adoptive families |journal=Intelligence |volume=35 |issue=6 |pages=526–541 |doi=10.1016/j.intell.2006.09.006|pmid=19081832 |pmc=2598751 }}</ref><ref name=PinkerTrouble/>

In 2007, [[Rebecca Zwick]] and Jennifer Greif Green observed that a typical analysis did not take into account that heterogeneity of the high schools attended by the students in terms of not just the socioeconomic statuses of the student bodies but also the standards of grading. Zwick and Greif Green proceeded to show that when these were accounted for, the correlation between family socioeconomic status and classroom grades and rank increased whereas that between socioeconomic status and SAT scores fell. They concluded that school grades and SAT scores were similarly associated with family income.<ref name="Zwick-2007">{{Cite journal|last1=Zwick|first1=Rebecca|last2=Greif Green|first2=Jennifer|date=Spring 2007|title=New Perspectives on the Correlation of SAT Scores, High School Grades, and Socioeconomic Factors|journal=Journal of Educational Measurement|publisher=National Council on Measurement in Education|volume=44|issue=1|pages=23–45|doi=10.1111/j.1745-3984.2007.00025.x|jstor=20461841}}</ref>

According to the College Board, in 2019, 56% of the test takers had parents with a university degree, 27% parents with no more than a high-school diploma, and about 9% who did not graduate from high school. (8% did not respond to the question.)<ref name="Hobbs-2019" />

=== Association with family structures ===
One of the proposed partial explanations for the gap between Asian- and European-American students in educational achievement, as measured for example by the SAT,  is the general tendency of Asians to come from [[Nuclear family|stable two-parent households]].<ref name="Hsin-2014" /> In their 2018 analysis of data from the [[National Longitudinal Surveys]] of the [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]], economists Adam Blandin, Christopher Herrington, and Aaron Steelman concluded that family structure played an important role in determining educational outcomes in general and SAT scores in particular. Families with only one parent who has no degrees were designated 1L, with two parents but no degrees 2L, and two parents with at least one degree between them 2H. Children from 2H families held a significant advantage of those from 1L families, and this gap grew between 1990 and 2010. Because the median SAT composite scores (verbal and mathematics) for 2H families grew by 20 points while those of 1L families fell by one point, the gap between them increased by 21 points, or a fifth of one standard deviation.<ref name="Blandin-2018">{{Cite journal|last1=Blandin|first1=Adam|last2=Herrington|first2=Christopher|last3=Steelman|first3=Aaron|date=February 2018|title=How Does Family Structure during Childhood Affect College Preparedness and Completion?|url=https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/economic_brief/2018/eb_18-02|journal=Economic Brief|publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond|volume=18|issue=2|access-date=March 3, 2021|archive-date=February 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213191245/https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/economic_brief/2018/eb_18-02|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Sex differences ===

==== In performance ====
[[File:SAT averages by group (2022).png|thumb|500x500px|Sex and race differences exist in SAT scores]]
In 2013, the American College Testing Board released a report stating that boys outperformed girls on the mathematics section of the test,<ref>{{cite news|last=Cummins|first=Denise|date=March 17, 2014|title=Boys outperform girls on mathematic portion|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/good-thinking/201403/why-the-gender-difference-sat-math-doesnt-matter|access-date=November 6, 2016|website=Psychology Today|archive-date=August 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821181647/https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/good-thinking/201403/why-the-gender-difference-on-sat-math-doesnt-matter|url-status=live}}</ref> a significant gap that has persisted for over 35 years.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Halpern|first1=Diane F.|last2=Benbow|first2=Camilla P.|last3=Geary|first3=David C.|display-authors=2|date=October 1, 2012|title=Sex, Math and Scientific Achievement|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sex-math-and-scientific-achievement-2012-10-23/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220103232847/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sex-math-and-scientific-achievement-2012-10-23/|archive-date=January 3, 2022|access-date=January 5, 2022|website=Scientific American}}</ref> As of 2015, boys on average earned 32 points more than girls on the SAT mathematics section. Among those scoring in the 700–800 range, the male-to-female ratio was 1.6:1.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cummins|first=Denise|date=April 17, 2015|title=Column: Why the STEM gender gap is overblown|work=PBS Newshour|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/making-sense/truth-women-stem-careers|access-date=March 4, 2021|archive-date=February 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226003133/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/making-sense/truth-women-stem-careers|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2014, psychologist Stephen Ceci and his collaborators found boys did better than girls across the percentiles. For example, a girl scoring in the top 10% of her sex would only be in the top 20% among the boys.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ceci|first1=Stephen|last2=Ginther|first2=Donna K.|last3=Kahn|first3=Shulamit|last4=Williams|first4=Wendy M.|date=November 3, 2014|title=Women in Academic Science: A Changing Landscape|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1529100614541236?legid=sppsi%3B15%2F3%2F75&patientinform-links=yes|journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest|publisher=Association for Psychological Science (APS)|volume=15|issue=3|pages=75–141|doi=10.1177/1529100614541236|pmid=26172066|s2cid=12701313|via=|access-date=January 31, 2021|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144921/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1529100614541236?legid=sppsi%3B15%2F3%2F75&patientinform-links=yes|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ceci-2018">{{Cite book|last1=Ceci|first1=Stephen J.|url=http://www.cambridge.org/9781316629642|title=The Nature of Human Intelligence|last2=Ginther|first2=Donna K.|last3=Kahn|first3=Shulamit|last4=Williams|first4=Wendy M.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-1-107-17657-7|editor-last=Sternberg|editor-first=Robert|location=|pages=|chapter=Chapter 3: Culture, Sex, and Intelligence|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821181135/https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/psychology/cognition/nature-human-intelligence?format=PB&isbn=9781316629642|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, psychologist Jonathan Wai and his colleagues showed, by analyzing data from three decades involving 1.6 million intellectually gifted seventh graders from the Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP), that in the 1980s the gender gap in the mathematics section of the SAT among students scoring in the top 0.01% was 13.5:1 in favor of boys but dropped to 3.8:1 by the 1990s.<ref name="Wai-2010">{{Cite journal |last1=Wai |first1=Jonathan |last2=Cacchio |first2=Megan |last3=Putallaz |first3=Martha |last4=Makel |first4=Matthew C. |date=July–August 2010 |title=Sex differences in the right tail of cognitive abilities: A 30 year examination |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/attachments/56143/sex-differences-in-the-right-tail-cognitive-abilities.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Intelligence |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=412–423 |doi=10.1016/j.intell.2010.04.006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204223404/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160289610000346 |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |access-date=January 31, 2021 |via=}}</ref><ref name="Ceci-2018" /> The dramatic sex ratio from the 1980s replicates a different study using a sample from Johns Hopkins University.<ref name="Wai-2012">{{Cite journal|last1=Wai|first1=Jonathan|last2=Putallaz|first2=Martha|last3=Makel|first3=Matthew C.|date=2012|title=Studying Intellectual Outliers: Are There Sex Differences, and Are the Smart Getting Smarter?|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/56143/intellectual-outliers2012.pdf|journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science|volume=21|issue=6|pages=382–390|doi=10.1177/0963721412455052|s2cid=145155911|via=}}</ref> This ratio is similar to that observed for the ACT mathematics and science scores between the early 1990s and the late 2000s.<ref name="Wai-2010" /> It remained largely unaltered at the end of the 2000s.<ref name="Wai-2010" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Bates |first=Karl Leif |date=July 6, 2010 |title=Gender Gap in Math Scores Persists |url=https://today.duke.edu/2010/07/TIPability.html |access-date=April 25, 2024 |website=Duke Today |publisher=Duke University |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=December 22, 2012|title=Cleverer still|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2012/12/22/cleverer-still|url-status=live|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112022354/https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2012/12/22/cleverer-still|archive-date=November 12, 2020}}</ref> Sex differences in SAT mathematics scores began making themselves apparent at the level of 400 points and above.<ref name="Wai-2010" /> In the late 2000s, for every female who scored a perfect 800 on the SAT mathematics test, there were two males.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Niederle |first1=Muriel |last2=Vesterlund |first2=Lise |date=Spring 2010 |title=Explaining the Gender Gap in Math Test Scores: The Role of Competition |url=https://web.stanford.edu/~niederle/NV.JEP.pdf |journal=Journal of Economic Perspective |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=129–44|doi=10.1257/jep.24.2.129 }}</ref><ref name=":3" />

Some researchers point to evidence in support of [[Greater Male Variability Hypothesis|greater male variability]] in verbal and quantitative reasoning skills.<ref name="Halpern-2007">{{Cite journal |last1=Halpern |first1=Diane F. |last2=Benbow |first2=Camilla P. |last3=Geary |first3=David C. |last4=Gur |first4=Ruben C. |last5=Hyde |first5=Janet Shibley |last6=Gernsbacher |first6=Morton Ann |date=August 2007 |title=The Science of Sex Differences in Science and Mathematics |journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=1–51 |doi=10.1111/j.1529-1006.2007.00032.x |pmid=25530726|pmc=4270278 }}</ref> Greater male variability has been found in body weight, height, and cognitive abilities across cultures, leading to a larger number of males in the lowest and highest distributions of testing.<ref name="LehreLehre2009">{{cite journal|last1=Lehre|first1=Anne-Catherine|last2=Lehre|first2=Knut P.|last3=Laake|first3=Petter|last4=Danbolt|first4=Niels C.|year=2009|title=Greater intrasex phenotype variability in males than in females is a fundamental aspect of the gender differences in humans|journal=Developmental Psychobiology|volume=51|issue=2|pages=198–206|doi=10.1002/dev.20358|issn=0012-1630|pmid=19031491}}</ref> Consequently, a higher number of males are found in both the upper and lower extremes of the performance distributions of the mathematics sections of standardized tests such as the SAT, resulting in the observed gender discrepancy.<ref name="WaiHodges2018">{{cite journal|last1=Wai|first1=Jonathan|last2=Hodges|first2=Jaret|last3=Makel|first3=Matthew C.|date=March–April 2018|title=Sex differences in ability tilt in the right tail of cognitive abilities: A 35-year examination|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160289617301241|journal=Intelligence|volume=67|pages=76–83|doi=10.1016/j.intell.2018.02.003|issn=0160-2896|access-date=January 31, 2021|via=|archive-date=March 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303193857/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160289617301241|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ceci-2018" /><ref name="Schrager-2015">{{Cite news|last=Schrager|first=Allison|date=July 9, 2015|title=Men are both dumber and smarter than women|work=Quartz|url=http://qz.com/441905/men-are-both-dumber-and-smarter-than-women/|url-status=live|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113083841/http://qz.com/|archive-date=January 13, 2021}}</ref> Paradoxically, this is at odds with the tendency of girls to have higher classroom scores than boys,<ref name="Ceci-2018" /> proving that they do not lack scholastic aptitude. However, boys tend to do better on standardized test questions not directly related to the curriculum.<ref name="Halpern-2007" />

On the other hand, Wai and his colleagues found that both sexes in the top 5% appeared to be more or less at parity when it comes to the verbal section of the SAT, though girls have gained a slight but noticeable edge over boys starting in the mid-1980s.<ref name="Wai-2012" /> Psychologist David Lubinski, who conducted longitudinal studies of seventh graders who scored exceptionally high on the SAT, found a similar result. Girls generally had better verbal reasoning skills and boys mathematical skills.<ref name="Schrager-2015" /> This reflects other research on the cognitive ability of the general population rather than just the 95th percentile and up.<ref name="Wai-2012" /><ref name="Schrager-2015" />

Although aspects of testing such as stereotype threat are a concern, research on the predictive validity of the SAT has demonstrated that it tends to be a more accurate predictor of female GPA in university as compared to male GPA.<ref>{{cite web|date=2013|title=Validity of the SAT for Predicting First-Year Grades: 2013 SAT Validity Sample|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED582459.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411214918/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED582459.pdf|archive-date=April 11, 2019|access-date=May 14, 2019|website=files.eric.ed.gov}}</ref>

==== In strategizing ====
[[File:SAT Grid-in mathematics question.png|thumb|SAT mathematics questions can be answered intuitively or algorithmically.]]
Mathematical problems on the SAT can be broadly categorized into two groups: conventional and unconventional. Conventional problems can be handled routinely via familiar formulas or algorithms while unconventional ones require more creative thought in order to make unusual use of familiar methods of solution or to come up with the specific insights necessary for solving those problems. In 2000, ETS psychometrician Ann M. Gallagher and her colleagues analyzed how students handled disclosed SAT mathematics questions in self-reports. They found that for both sexes, the most favored approach was to use formulas or algorithms learned in class. When that failed, however, males were more likely than females to identify the suitable methods of solution. Previous research suggested that males were more likely to explore unusual paths to solution whereas females tended to stick to what they had learned in class and that females were more likely to identify the appropriate approaches if such required nothing more than mastery of classroom materials.<ref name="Gallagher-2000">{{Cite journal|last1=Gallagher|first1=Ann M.|last2=De Lisi|first2=Richard|last3=Holst|first3=Patricia C.|last4=McGillicuddy-De Lisi|first4=Ann V.|last5=Morely|first5=Mary|last6=Cahalan|first6=Cara|date=2000|title=Gender Differences in Advanced Mathematical Problem Solving|journal=Journal of Experimental Child Psychology|publisher=Academic Press|volume=75|issue=3|pages=165–190|doi=10.1006/jecp.1999.2532|pmid=10666324|citeseerx=10.1.1.536.2454|s2cid=27933911 }}</ref>

==== In confidence ====
Older versions of the SAT did ask students how confident they were in their mathematical aptitude and verbal reasoning ability, specifically, whether or not they believed they were in the top 10%. Devin G. Pope analyzed data of over four million test takers from the late 1990s to the early 2000s and found that high scorers were more likely to be confident they were in the top 10%, with the top scorers reporting the highest levels of confidence. But there were some noticeable gaps between the sexes. Men tended to be much more confident in their mathematical aptitude than women. For example, among those who scored 700 on the mathematics section, 67% of men answered they believed they were in the top 10% whereas only 56% of women did the same. Women, on the other hand, were slightly more confident in their verbal reasoning ability than men.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pope|first=Devin G.|date=August 8, 2017|title=Women who are elite mathematicians are less likely than men to believe they're elite mathematicians|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/08/women-who-are-elite-mathematicians-are-less-likely-than-men-to-believe-theyre-elite-mathematicians/|url-status=live|access-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216173553/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/08/women-who-are-elite-mathematicians-are-less-likely-than-men-to-believe-theyre-elite-mathematicians/|archive-date=February 16, 2021}}</ref>

==== In glucose metabolism ====
Cognitive neuroscientists [[Richard J. Haier|Richard Haier]] and [[Camilla Persson Benbow]] employed positron emission tomography ([[Positron emission tomography|PET]]) scans to investigate the rate of [[glucose metabolism]] among students who have taken the SAT. They found that among men, those with higher SAT mathematics scores exhibited higher rates of glucose metabolism in the [[temporal lobe]]s than those with lower scores, contradicting the brain-efficiency hypothesis. This trend, however, was not found among women, for whom the researchers could not find any cortical regions associated with mathematical reasoning. Both sexes scored the same on average in their sample and had the same rates of cortical glucose metabolism overall. According to Haier and Benbow, this is evidence for the structural differences of the brain between the sexes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Haier|first1=Richard|last2=Benbow|first2=Camilla Persson|date=1995|title=Sex differences and lateralization in temporal lobe glucose metabolism during mathematical reasoning|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/87565649509540629|journal=Developmental Neuropsychology|volume=11|issue=4|pages=405–414|doi=10.1080/87565649509540629|via=|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-date=May 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525174125/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/87565649509540629|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Haier-2018">{{Cite book|last=Haier|first=Richard|url=http://www.cambridge.org/9781316629642|title=The Nature of Human Intelligence|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-1-107-17657-7|editor-last=Sternberg|editor-first=Robert|location=|pages=|chapter=Chapter 11: A View from the Brain|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821181135/https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/psychology/cognition/nature-human-intelligence?format=PB&isbn=9781316629642|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Association with race and ethnicity ===
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A 2001 [[meta-analysis]] of the results of 6,246,729 participants tested for cognitive ability or aptitude found a difference in average scores between black and white students of around 1.0 [[Standard deviations|standard deviation]], with comparable results for the SAT (2.4 million test takers).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Roth|first1=Philip L.|last2=Bevier|first2=Craig A.|last3=Bobko|first3=Philip|last4=Switzer|first4=Fred S.|last5=Tyler|first5=Peggy|date=June 2001|title=Ethnic group differences in cognitive ability in employment and educational settings: a meta-analysis|journal=Personnel Psychology|volume=54|issue=2|pages=297–330|doi=10.1111/j.1744-6570.2001.tb00094.x|citeseerx=10.1.1.372.6092}}</ref> Similarly, on average, Hispanic and Amerindian students perform on the order of one standard deviation lower on the SAT than white and Asian students.<ref>Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities: Average SAT scores for 12th-grade SAT-taking population, by race/ethnicity: 2006</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2006|title=Average SAT scores for 12th-grade SAT-taking population, by race/ethnicity: 2006|url=http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/minoritytrends/figures/figure_14.asp|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627045146/http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/minoritytrends/figures/figure_14.asp|archive-date=June 27, 2015|website=Institute of Educational Sciences|publisher=The College Board, College Bound Seniors, 2006}}</ref><ref>Abigail Thernstrom & Stephan Thernstrom. 2004.  No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning. Simon and Schuster</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Jaschik|first=S|date=June 21, 2010|title=New Evidence of Racial Bias on the SAT|url=http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/21/sat|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101233215/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/21/sat|archive-date=January 1, 2015|website=Inside Higher ED}}</ref> Mathematics appears to be the more difficult part of the exam.<ref name="Hobbs-2019" /> In 1996, the black-white gap in the mathematics section was 0.91 standard deviations, but by 2020, it fell to 0.79.<ref name="Smith-2020">{{Cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Ember|last2=Reeves|first2=Richard V.|date=December 1, 2020|title=SAT math scores mirror and maintain racial inequity|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/12/01/sat-math-scores-mirror-and-maintain-racial-inequity/|access-date=January 30, 2021|website=Brookings Institution|archive-date=January 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127040928/https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/12/01/sat-math-scores-mirror-and-maintain-racial-inequity/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, Asian Americans as a group scored 0.38 standard deviations higher than whites in the mathematics section.<ref name="Hsin-2014">{{Cite journal|last1=Hsin|first1=Amy|last2=Xie|first2=Yu|date=June 10, 2014|title=Explaining Asian Americans' academic advantage over whites|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=111|issue=23|pages=8416–8421|doi=10.1073/pnas.1406402111|pmid=24799702|pmc=4060715|bibcode=2014PNAS..111.8416H|doi-access=free}}</ref>
[[File:Distribution of SAT scores by race-ethnicity.png|center]]
Some researchers believe that the difference in scores is closely related to the overall achievement gap in American society between students of different racial groups. This gap may be explainable in part by the fact that students of disadvantaged racial groups tend to go to schools that provide lower educational quality. This view is supported by evidence that the black-white gap is higher in cities and neighborhoods that are more racially segregated.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Card|first1=D.|last2=Rothstein|first2=Ol|year=2007|title=Racial segregation and the black–white test score gap|url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/586961tt|url-status=live|journal=Journal of Public Economics|type=Submitted manuscript|volume=91|issue=11|pages=2158–84|doi=10.1016/j.jpubeco.2007.03.006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103110326/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/586961tt|archive-date=January 3, 2019|access-date=September 10, 2018|s2cid=13468169}}</ref> Other research cites poorer minority proficiency in key coursework relevant to the SAT (English and math), as well as peer pressure against students who try to focus on their schoolwork ("[[acting white]]").<ref name="JBHE">{{cite web|title=The Widening Racial Scoring Gap on the SAT College Admissions Test|url=http://www.jbhe.com/features/49_college_admissions-test.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216002550/http://www.jbhe.com/features/49_college_admissions-test.html|archive-date=December 16, 2015|access-date=December 14, 2015|publisher=The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education}}</ref> Cultural issues are also evident among black students in wealthier households, with high achieving parents. [[John Ogbu]], a Nigerian-American professor of anthropology, concluded that instead of looking to their parents as role models, black youth chose other models like rappers and did not make an effort to be good students.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ogbu|first1=John U.|title=Black American Students in An Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement (Sociocultural, Political, and Historical Studies in Education)|date=January 3, 2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-8058-4516-7|location=New York|pages=16, 164}}</ref>

One set of studies has reported differential item functioning, namely, that some test questions function differently based on the racial group of the test taker, reflecting differences in ability to understand certain test questions or to acquire the knowledge required to answer them between groups. In 2003, Freedle published data showing that black students have had a slight advantage on the verbal questions that are labeled as difficult on the SAT, whereas white and Asian students tended to have a slight advantage on questions labeled as easy. Freedle argued that these findings suggest that "easy" test items use vocabulary that is easier to understand for white middle class students than for minorities, who often use a different language in the home environment, whereas the difficult items use complex language learned only through lectures and textbooks,  giving both student groups equal opportunities to acquiring it.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Freedle|first=R.O.|year=2003|title=Correcting the SAT's ethnic and social-class bias: A method for reestimating SAT Scores|journal=Harvard Educational Review|volume=73|pages=1–38|doi=10.17763/haer.73.1.8465k88616hn4757}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Crain|first1=W|year=2004|title=Biased test|journal=ENCOUNTER: Education for Meaning and Social Justice|volume=17|issue=3|pages=2–4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2011|title=Editorial Biased Tests|url=http://files.campus.edublogs.org/blogs.leeward.hawaii.edu/dist/c/124/files/2011/10/BiasedTests-ths23o.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411214918/http://files.campus.edublogs.org/blogs.leeward.hawaii.edu/dist/c/124/files/2011/10/BiasedTests-ths23o.pdf|archive-date=April 11, 2019|access-date=May 14, 2019|website=files.campus.edublogs.org}}</ref>  The study was severely criticized by the ETS board, but the findings were replicated in a subsequent study by Santelices and Wilson in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=New Evidence of Racial Bias on SAT|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/21/sat|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928213051/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/21/sat|archive-date=September 28, 2015|access-date=September 10, 2015|website=insidehighered.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Santelices|first1=M.V.|last2=Wilson|first2=M.|year=2010|title=Unfair treatment? The case of Freedle, the SAT, and the standardization approach to differential item functioning|journal=Harvard Educational Review|volume=80|issue=1|pages=106–34|doi=10.17763/haer.80.1.j94675w001329270}}</ref>
[[File:Students who scored 600 or more on the math SAT.gif|center]]
There is no evidence that SAT scores systematically underestimate future performance of minority students. However, the predictive validity of the SAT has been shown to depend on the dominant ethnic and racial composition of the college.<ref>Fleming, Ol (2002). Who will succeed in college? When the SAT predicts Black students' performance. The Review of Higher Education, 25(3), 281–96.</ref> Some studies have also shown that African-American students under-perform in college relative to their white peers with the same SAT scores; researchers have argued that this is likely because white students tend to benefit from social advantages outside of the educational environment (for example, high parental involvement in their education, inclusion in campus academic activities, positive bias from same-race teachers and peers) which result in better grades.<ref name="Jencks">Jencks, C. (1998). Racial bias in testing. The Black-White test score gap, 55, 84.</ref>

[[Christopher Jencks]] concludes that as a group, African Americans have been harmed by the introduction of standardized entrance exams such as the SAT. This, according to him, is not because the tests themselves are flawed, but because of labeling bias and selection bias; the tests measure the skills that African Americans are less likely to develop in their socialization, rather than the skills they are more likely to develop. Furthermore, standardized entrance exams are often labeled as tests of general ability, rather than of certain aspects of ability. Thus, a situation is produced in which African-American ability is consistently underestimated within the education and workplace environments, contributing in turn to selection bias against them which exacerbates underachievement.<ref name="Jencks" />
[[File:Average SAT Scores by Racial and Ethnic Group 2018.PNG|center|frame|2018 SAT combined scores by race and ethnicity]]
Among the major racial or ethnic groups of the United States, gaps in SAT mathematics scores are the greatest at the tails, with Hispanic and Latino Americans being the most likely to score at the lowest range and Asian Americans the highest. In addition, there is some evidence suggesting that if the test contains more questions of both the easy and difficult varieties, which would increase the variability of the scores, the gaps would be even wider. Given the distribution for Asians, for example, many could score higher than 800 if the test allowed them to. (See figure below.)<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Reeves|first1=Richard V.|last2=Halikias|first2=Dimitrios|date=February 1, 2017|title=Race gaps in SAT scores highlight inequality and hinder upward mobility|url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/race-gaps-in-sat-scores-highlight-inequality-and-hinder-upward-mobility/|access-date=February 16, 2021|website=Brookings Institution|archive-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216202033/https://www.brookings.edu/research/race-gaps-in-sat-scores-highlight-inequality-and-hinder-upward-mobility/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Distributions of SAT Math Scores by Race or Ethnicity.png|center]]

2020 was the year in which education worldwide was [[Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education|disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic]] and indeed, the performance of students in the United States on standardized tests, such as the SAT, suffered. Yet the gaps persisted.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jaschik|first=Scott|date=October 19, 2020|title=ACT and SAT Scores Drop|work=Inside Higher Education|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2020/10/19/act-and-sat-scores-drop-2020|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-date=January 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122155456/https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2020/10/19/act-and-sat-scores-drop-2020|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the College Board, in 2020, while 83% of Asian students met the benchmark of college readiness in reading and writing and 80% in mathematics, only 44% and 21% of black students did those respective categories. Among whites, 79% met the benchmark for reading and writing and 59% did mathematics. For Hispanics and Latinos, the numbers were 53% and 30%, respectively. (See figure below.)<ref name="Smith-2020" />
[[File:SAT College-readiness Benchmarks.png|center]]

=== Test-taking population ===
[[File:US Navy 050223-N-5821P-054 Seaman Chanthorn Peou of San Diego, Calif., takes his Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) aboard the conventionally powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63).jpg|thumb|280x280px|A U.S. Navy sailor taking the SAT aboard the [[USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)|U.S.S ''Kitty Hawk'']] (CV-63) in 2004]]
By analyzing data from the National Center for Education Statistics, economists Ember Smith and Richard Reeves of the [[Brookings Institution]] deduced that the number of students taking the SAT increased at a rate faster than population and high-school graduation growth rates between 2000 and 2020. The increase was especially pronounced among Hispanics and Latinos. Even among whites, whose number of high-school graduates was shrinking, the number of SAT takers rose.<ref name="Smith-2020" /> In 2015, for example, 1.7 million students took the SAT,<ref name="Selingo-2020" /> up from 1.6 million in 2013.<ref name="Zoroya-2014" /> But in 2019, a record-breaking 2.2 million students took the exam, compared to 2.1 million in 2018, another record-breaking year.<ref name="Hobbs-2019" /> The rise in the number of students taking the SAT was due in part to many school districts offering to administer the SAT during school days often at no further costs to the students.<ref name="Hobbs-2019" /> Some require students to take the SAT, regardless of whether or not they are going to college.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Finder |first=Alan |date=August 28, 2007 |title=Math and Reading SAT Scores Drop |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/education/28cnd-sat.html |access-date=April 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230424033620/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/education/28cnd-sat.html |archive-date=April 24, 2023}}</ref> However, in 2021, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the [[#Optional SAT|optional status of the SAT]] at many colleges and universities, only 1.5 million students took the test.<ref name="Thompson-2022" /> But as testing centers reopened, ambitious students chose to take the SAT or the ACT to make themselves stand out from the competition regardless of the admissions policies of their preferred schools.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sarraf |first=Isabelle |date=July 1, 2022 |title=More Students Are Taking Optional SAT and ACT, Hoping to Stand Out |url=https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/more-students-are-taking-optional-sat-and-act-hoping-to-stand-out-11656687601 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220708145553/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/more-students-are-taking-optional-sat-and-act-hoping-to-stand-out-11656687601 |archive-date=July 8, 2022 |access-date=August 30, 2022 |work=The Wall Street Journal |department=Education}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> Among the class of 2023, 1.9 million students took the test.<ref name=":4" />

Psychologists [[Jean Twenge]], W. Keith Campbell, and Ryne A. Sherman analyzed vocabulary test scores on the U.S. [[General Social Survey]] (<math>n = 29,912</math>) and found that after correcting for education, the use of sophisticated vocabulary has declined between the mid-1970s and the mid-2010s across all levels of education, from below high school to graduate school. However, they cautioned against the use of SAT verbal scores to track the decline for while the College Board reported that SAT verbal scores had been decreasing, these scores were an imperfect measure of the vocabulary level of the nation as a whole because the test-taking demographic has changed and because more students took the SAT in the 2010s than in the 1970s, meaning there were more with limited ability who took it.<ref name="Twenge-2019" /> However, as the frequency of reading for pleasure and the level of reading comprehension among American high-school students continue to decline, students who take the SAT might struggle to do well, even if reforms have been introduced to shorten the duration of the test and to reduce the number of questions associated with a given passage in the verbal portion of the test.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Paris |first=Ben |date=April 11, 2022 |title=Have We Given Up on Reading? |work=Inside Higher Education |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/views/2022/04/11/do-changes-sat-suggest-weve-given-reading-opinion |access-date=August 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411075650/https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/views/2022/04/11/do-changes-sat-suggest-weve-given-reading-opinion |archive-date=April 11, 2022}}</ref>

=== Use in non-collegiate contexts ===

==== By high-IQ societies ====
Certain [[high IQ societies]], like [[Mensa International|Mensa]], [[Intertel]], the Prometheus Society and the [[Triple Nine Society]], use scores from certain years as one of their admission tests. For instance, Intertel accepts scores (verbal and math combined) of at least 1300 on tests taken through January 1994;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Intertel – Join us|url=https://www.intertel-iq.org/join-us|access-date=March 15, 2021|website=www.intertel-iq.org|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322112303/https://intertel-iq.org/join-us|url-status=live}}</ref> the Triple Nine Society accepts scores of 1450 or greater on SAT tests taken before April 1995, and scores of at least 1520 on tests taken between April 1995 and February 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title=Qualifying Scores for the Triple Nine Society|url=http://www.triplenine.org/HowtoJoin/TestScores.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306093913/http://www.triplenine.org/howtojoin/testscores.aspx|archive-date=March 6, 2018|access-date=March 10, 2018}}</ref> Mensa accepts qualifying SAT scores earned on or before January 31, 1994.

==== By researchers ====
Because it is strongly correlated with general intelligence, the SAT has often been used as a proxy to measure intelligence by researchers, especially since 2004.<ref name="Frey-2019" /> In particular, scientists studying mathematically gifted individuals have been using the mathematics section of the SAT to identify subjects for their research.<ref name="O'Boyle-2005">{{Cite journal|last=O'Boyle|first=Michael W.|date=2005|title=Some current findings on brain characteristics of the mathematically gifted adolescent|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854977.pdf|journal=International Education Journal|publisher=Shannon Research Press|volume=6|issue=2|pages=247–251|issn=1443-1475|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826232712/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854977.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

A growing body of research indicates that SAT scores can predict individual success decades into the future, for example in terms of income and occupational achievements.<ref name="Frey-2019" /><ref name="Dewan-2014">{{Cite news|last=Dewan|first=Shaila|date=March 29, 2014|title=How Businesses Use Your SATs|work=The New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/sunday-review/how-businesses-use-your-sats.html|url-status=live|access-date=February 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212173342/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/sunday-review/how-businesses-use-your-sats.html|archive-date=February 12, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Hambrick-2011">{{Cite web|last=Hambrick|first=David Z.|date=December 16, 2011|title=The SAT Is a Good Intelligence Test|url=https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/12/04/why-should-sats-matter/the-sat-is-a-good-intelligence-test|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226183950/https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/12/04/why-should-sats-matter/the-sat-is-a-good-intelligence-test|archive-date=February 26, 2021|access-date=March 1, 2021|website=The New York Times}}</ref> A longitudinal study published in 2005 by educational psychologists Jonathan Wai, David Lubinski, and Camilla Benbow suggests that among the intellectually precocious (the top 1%), those with higher scores in the mathematics section of the SAT at the age of 12 were more likely to earn a PhD in the [[Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics|STEM]] fields, to have a publication, to register a patent, or to secure university tenure.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wai|first1=Jonathan|last2=Lubinski|first2=David|last3=Benbow|first3=Camilla|date=2005|title=Creativity and Occupational Accomplishments Among Intellectually Precocious Youths: An Age 13 to Age 33 Longitudinal Study|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/attachments/56143/creativity-and-occupational-accomplishments-among-intellectually-precocious-youths.pdf|journal=Journal of Educational Psychology|publisher=American Psychological Association|volume=97|issue=3|pages=484–492|doi=10.1037/0022-0663.97.3.484|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821182206/https://www.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/attachments/56143/creativity-and-occupational-accomplishments-among-intellectually-precocious-youths.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Wai-2015" /> Wai further showed that an individual's academic ability, as measured by the average SAT or ACT scores of the institution attended, predicted individual differences in income, even among the richest people of all, and being a member of the 'American elite', namely Fortune 500 CEOs, billionaires, federal judges, and members of Congress.<ref name="Wai-2013">{{Cite journal|last=Wai|first=Jonathan|date=July–August 2013|title=Investigating America's elite: Cognitive ability, education, and sex differences|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289613000263|journal=Journal of Intelligence|volume=41|issue=4|pages=203–211|doi=10.1016/j.intell.2013.03.005|via=Elsevier Science Direct|access-date=February 14, 2021|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428195436/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289613000263|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Frey-2019" /> Wai concluded that the American elite was also the cognitive elite.<ref name="Wai-2013" /> Gregory Park, Lubinski, and Benbow gave statistical evidence that intellectually gifted adolescents, as identified by SAT scores, could be expected to accomplish great feats of creativity in the future, both in the arts and in STEM.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Park|first1=Gregory|last2=Lubinski|first2=David|last3=Benbow|first3=Camilla|date=November 2007|title=Contrasting intellectual patterns predict creativity in the arts and sciences: tracking intellectually precocious youth over 25 years|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17958707/|journal=Psychological Science|volume=18|issue=11|pages=948–52|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02007.x|pmid=17958707|s2cid=11576778|via=|access-date=February 14, 2021|archive-date=January 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116220448/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17958707/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Frey-2019" />

The SAT is sometimes given to students at age 12 or 13 by organizations such as the [[Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth]] (SMPY), Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, and the Duke University [[Talent Identification Program]] (TIP) to select, study, and mentor students of exceptional ability, that is, those in the top one percent.<ref name="Haier-2018" /> Among SMPY participants, those within the top quartile, as indicated by the SAT composite score (mathematics and verbal), were markedly more likely to have a doctoral degree, to have at least one publication in STEM, to earn income in the 95th percentile, to have at least one literary publication, or to register at least one patent than those in the bottom quartile. Duke TIP participants generally picked career tracks in STEM should they be stronger in mathematics, as indicated by SAT mathematics scores, or the humanities if they possessed greater verbal ability, as indicated by SAT verbal scores. For comparison, the bottom SMPY quartile is five times more likely than the average American to have a patent. Meanwhile, as of 2016, the shares doctorates among SMPY participants was 44% and Duke TIP 37%, compared to two percent among the general U.S. population.<ref name="Lubinsky-2018">{{Cite book|last=Lubinsky|first=David|url=http://www.cambridge.org/9781316629642|title=The Nature of Human Intelligence|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-1-107-17657-7|editor-last=Sternberg|editor-first=Robert|location=|pages=|chapter=Chapter 15: Individual Differences at the Top|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821181135/https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/psychology/cognition/nature-human-intelligence?format=PB&isbn=9781316629642|url-status=live}}</ref> Consequently, the notion that beyond a certain point, differences in cognitive ability as measured by standardized tests such as the SAT cease to matter is gainsaid by the evidence.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Robertson|first1=Kimberley Ferriman|last2=Smeets|first2=Stijn|last3=Lubinski|first3=David|last4=Benbow|first4=Camilla P.|date=December 14, 2010|title=Beyond the Threshold Hypothesis: Even Among the Gifted and Top Math/Science Graduate Students, Cognitive Abilities, Vocational Interests, and Lifestyle Preferences Matter for Career Choice, Performance, and Persistence|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963721410391442|journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science|publisher=Association for Psychological Science|volume=19|issue=6|pages=346–351|doi=10.1177/0963721410391442|s2cid=46218795|access-date=March 2, 2021|archive-date=March 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316123753/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963721410391442|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 2010 paper which showed that the sex gap in SAT mathematics scores had dropped dramatically between the early 1980s and the early 1990s but had persisted for the next two decades or so, Wai and his colleagues argued that "sex differences in abilities in the extreme right tail should not be dismissed as no longer part of the explanation for the dearth of women in math-intensive fields of science."<ref name="Wai-2010" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Tierney|first=John|date=June 7, 2012|title=Daring to Discuss Women in Science|work=The New York Times|department=Science|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/science/08tier.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all|url-status=live|access-date=February 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412093229/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/science/08tier.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all|archive-date=April 12, 2017}}</ref>

==== By employers ====
Cognitive ability is correlated with job training outcomes and job performance.<ref name="Kuncel-2010" /><ref name="Treu-2014">{{Cite news|last=Treu|first=Zachary|date=February 26, 2014|title=Your SAT and ACT scores could make a difference in your job future|work=PBS Newshour|department=Nation|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/sat-act-scores-make-difference-job-future|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826231323/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/sat-act-scores-make-difference-job-future|url-status=live}}</ref> As such, some employers rely on SAT scores to assess the suitability of a prospective recruit,<ref name="Dewan-2014" /> especially if the person has limited work experience.<ref name="Treu-2014" /> There is nothing new about this practice.<ref name="Weber-2004">{{Cite news|last=Weber|first=Rebecca L.|date=May 18, 2004|title=Want a job? Hand over your SAT results|work=Christian Science Monitor|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0518/p13s01-legn.html|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826230928/https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0518/p13s01-legn.html|archive-date=August 26, 2021}}</ref> Major companies and corporations have spent princely sums on learning how to avoid hiring errors and have decided that standardized test scores are a valuable tool in deciding whether or not a person is fit for the job. In some cases, a company might need to hire someone to handle proprietary materials of its own making, such as computer software. But since the ability to work with such materials cannot be assessed via external certification, it makes sense for such a firm to rely on something that is a proxy of measuring general intelligence.<ref name="Dewan-2014" /><ref name="Korn-2014" /> In other cases, a firm may not care about academic background but needs to assess a prospective recruit's quantitative reasoning ability, and what makes standardized test scores necessary.<ref name="Weber-2004" /> Several companies, especially those considered to be the most prestigious in industries such as [[investment banking]] and [[management consulting]] such as [[Goldman Sachs]] and [[McKinsey & Company|McKinsey]], have been reported to ask prospective job candidates about their SAT scores.<ref name="Korn-2014">{{Cite news|last=Korn|first=Melissa|date=March 25, 2014|title=Job Hunting? Dig Up Those Old SAT Scores|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303636404579395220334268350.html|access-date=November 13, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211113151222/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303636404579395220334268350|archive-date=November 13, 2021|issn=0099-9660|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Salmans|first=Sandra|date=November 7, 2004|title=Don't Throw That Score Out Yet|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/education/edlife/dont-throw-that-score-out-yet.html|access-date=November 13, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113024606/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/education/edlife/dont-throw-that-score-out-yet.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Alison|last=Griswold|title=Goldman Sachs, Bain, McKinsey: Job Candidates SAT Scores|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-bain-mckinsey-job-candidates-sat-scores-2014-3|date=March 4, 2004|access-date=November 13, 2021|website=Business Insider|language=en-US|archive-date=November 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113024558/https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-bain-mckinsey-job-candidates-sat-scores-2014-3|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=McKinsey's online application FAQs {{!}} Careers {{!}} McKinsey & Company|url=https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/application-faq|access-date=November 13, 2021|website=www.mckinsey.com|language=en|archive-date=November 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113024607/https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/application-faq|url-status=live}}</ref>

Nevertheless, some other top employers, such as [[Google]], have eschewed the use of SAT or other standardized test scores unless the potential employee is a recent graduate. Google's [[Laszlo Bock]] explained to ''The New York Times'', "We found that they don't predict anything." Educational psychologist Jonathan Wai suggested this might be due to the inability of the SAT to differentiate the intellectual capacities of those at the extreme right end of the distribution of intelligence. Wai told ''The New York Times'', "Today the SAT is actually too easy, and that's why Google doesn't see a correlation. Every single person they get through the door is a super-high scorer."<ref name="Dewan-2014" />