<p>Smart parents do not necessarily have smart children. The correlation between income and SAT score is because richer parents can afford more educational opportunities for their children. They may live in a better school district or send their kids to private school. When it comes time for the SATs they can afford to pay for books and tutors. If the kid still doesn’t get a score they wanted, they can not only afford to pay for a retake, but they also have greater incentives to do so. If you know that you can easily pay for any school your kid gets into regardless of whether or not they provide any aid or scholarships, it is worth it to continuously try to bump up your kid’s score since it directly leads to more opportunities. If you have a lower income, regardless of your score, you are relying on applying to some school which will meet your financial needs, in which case, continuing to toss money at the college board may not be cost effective. </p>
<p>There were plenty of private colleges that I never applied to who sent me offers for big scholarships simply because higher admitted SAT scores bumps their rankings up. (another element of the industry that I feel causes problems.) I ignored everyone one of them because state schools still ended up being the more economical options. I maybe could have thrown away another $70 to try to squeeze some more money out of these schools, but why should I? Unless I’m going to an Ivy (which are all need blind anyway) what do I gain from going to some outrageously expensive private college with the dumb children of rich people who bought 800s for their kids on the SATs?</p>