Editing SAT (section)

=== 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>