A little background… Back in 2004 a study by Frey and Detterman examined SAT scores from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and compared SAT scores to scores from the ASVAB which is essentially a test of intelligence and correlates very highly with g. An r-value of .82 (.86 corrected for non-linearity) was found between SAT scores and ASVAB scores.
Since no study had been done since on the SAT following 1994 and 2005 changes is it reasonable to say that it doesn’t correlate as highly anymore given that the changes during those times removed the items you would find on intelligence tests? Things like analogies and quantitative comparisons were removed as were antonyms and the test was made marginally harder and the math section was expanded to include 3 years of high school mathematics.
With it’s trend towards a more achievement-like test and the fact that societies like MENSA only accept scores prior to the mid 90s is it safe to say the SAT no longer correlates as much with IQ as it used to?
It is possible for there to be discrepancies between IQ and SAT scores. I know someone with a professionally tested IQ of 135 who only got a score of around 1500 on the 2400 scale.
The study done by Frey and Detterman was ONE study that showed a correlation of .82 (.86 corrected for non-linearity) on data retrieved from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. This was the pre-1994 SAT which was actually much more like a group-administered IQ test at the time but it underwent some major content changes between then and 2005 and is now much more like an achievement test because it assesses grammar skills and vocabulary, mathematical problem solving and acquired knowledge from algebra and geometry, reading comprehension all with an added time constraint. “Gifted” students with processing deficits will perform poorly on these tests even though they have mastered the material. It is doubtful that the current SAT correlates with “intelligence” as highly as it used to. Keep in mind that the measure of IQ used in the Frey and Detterman study was the ASVAB which correlates about .7 with individually administered IQ tests which is substantial but not adequate for cross-validity.
I think what leads to eminence in a field like physics is intelligence, competence, creativity, and a great passion!