420

yea, what does this non-sense teat really measure? Or is it designed for aristocrats to take advantage of middle class who cannot afford to take expensive test prep programs?

Kenzen

If your fed up with it just take the ACT. All I did was study a $20 prep book (affordable) and got the score I think I deserved. If only more people knew about it...

MarathonMan88

I think what it tries to predict (not measure) is first-year college GPA. I remember learning in a statistical methods psych course a long time ago that they made the test by essentially using the questions from the experimental sections that corellated most highly with 1st-yr. college performance. I'm not sure if it's quite that straightforward any more, but that's close to the bottom line.

Predator

SAT is just a piece of ****.

'nuff said.

Perplexitudinous

I'm not exactly an "aristocrat" (unless you call a family living on $20k/yr aristocratic). I went from 2010 to 2220 by studying a couple well-chosen SAT prep books over the summer. 30 minutes per day can go a long way.

I'm not exactly sure what the SAT measures; I don't think my reasoning skills increased very much over the past summer (they probably decreased from reading too much CC :-). However, if you care to *cite* an example of "non-sense," I'd be delighted to see it.

ckmets13

its supposed to predict first year college GPA, and even though the stats are that it doesnt do too well, its doing well out of the people I know. the SAT is a neccessary evil

1of42

I think it measures how willing you are to put up with your feelings of entitlement to good results being not fulfilled. Most people who take it don't do well at this, including some in this thread...

abg41

There is strong evidence that the SAT measures general intelligence. There are strong correlations between SAT and IQ scores. The OP is probably just angry because he did poorly on it.

kenshinx08

it's not the most accurate way to measure intelligence, but it does give SOME general view of the person's level of knowledge/reasoning/intelligence. and honestly, compared to the type of standardized tests asian countries give (including the circumstances surrounding them), the sat isn't that bad at ALL. you can retake it, and there are plenty of resources available for you to work with.

to the op: the argument that "aristocrats" have an advantage because of access to test prep centers is just a manifestation of any individual's lack of diligence to simply do the necessary studying. me personally, i come from an upper middle class community where an enormous chunk of students attend these kind of centers, and i can tell you right now, its those who stay home and study diligently themselves that come out with the high scores they desire, not those eagerly willing to dish out $ to those ridiculous businesses

trans-siberian

It measures how well you take the SAT. Period.

Perplexitudinous

To the OP.

I am not sure what the SAT measures; besides, if there were multiple explanations of what it measures, I would be biased towards whatever explanation made me feel best about myself/my score. The test may be unfair - perhaps very unfair.

HOWEVER.

The test is here, and it is not going to budge anytime soon (ie not before any HS student on CC today graduates). There are any number of examples, both on and off CC, of people who have increased their scores significantly by studying from SAT prep books, which are not expensive. I suggest that you follow their example.