> I don't buy the notion that tests do not test relevant skills. In my long career I've noticed a strong correlation between SAT scores and academic performance as well as job performance.

SAT tests intelligence (aptitude), not skills. Which is why it correlates with job performance, where intelligence can (over some time) matter as much or more than a starting point of relevant skills.

▲ Newlaptop 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I just checked, and the SAT math section covers algebra, trigonometry and statistics.

Look at this list:

  Quadratic equations and functions (vertex form, roots, discriminant)
  Polynomial operations and factoring
  Exponential functions and growth/decay
  Radical and rational expressions
  Function notation, composite and inverse functions
  Nonlinear graphs and their transformations

A genius student who had never been taught those subjects wouldn't even know what the symbols meant. A mediocre student who had studied SAT-style questions for weeks leading up to the test would likely outperform a high IQ student who last solved those types of problems over a year prior.

Standardized tests can be a great resource for assessing students, but they're not just testing for intelligence. Test-prep courses average increasing SAT scores by about 200 points. That's not because they're increasing the intelligence of the people taking them.

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somenameforme an hour ago | parent [-]

Somebody who goes to take a test on something they know that they know nothing about could be called many things, but genius is not one, even moreso when they're paying for the privilege of taking that test. What is on the SAT is no secret, so people are free to prepare as little or as much as they might like. If somebody can't be assed to prepare for such a critical test, then they're probably going to be the sort of person who can't be assed to do much of anything in life. And the internet has also largely relegated the inequities in access to training quite obsolete. You can get free high quality training materials on everything for free.

	▲	sir0010010 24 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		You've never met a smart high school student that didn't study? You've also never met someone who became more disciplined later in life?

▲ sir0010010 20 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I guess the question is: would you rather hire someone with poor SATs and god-tier Leetcoding skills or vice-versa?

▲ WalterBright 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Nothing's perfect, but the SAT tests do an adequate job.