Generally, they have a fairly strong correlation with IQ
A groundless claim. There is no evidence that suggests higher IQs warrant higher SAT scores. Furthermore the test was
NOT created to measure one's intelligence
Directly from the Collegeboard website
It tests students' knowledge of subjects that are necessary for college success: reading, writing, and mathematics. The SAT assesses the critical thinking skills students need for academic success in college—skills that students learned in high school.
There is no correlation between intelligence and high/low SAT scores. The SAT covers a narrow range of topics, doing well requires preparation,
NOT intelligence. This is the entire point of the test,
to measure how well you are prepared. Some people need to study the test and it's specific topics and questions to be prepared. The SAT II Math Level II, for example, contains very specific questions regarding equations of hyperbolas. I was taking Multivariable calculus when I began studying for the Math SAT II test. I personally forget all about foci and calculating major and minor axis for hyperbolas. However, I did know other, faster, ways of finding extrema values, evaulating series, trig transformations, etc. Had I simply taken the test without studying for the specific SAT II subjects, I wouldn't have been able to get an 800. In fact, the first time I took the SAT II Math II subject test got a 760 for that very reason. Despite knowing how to evaluate triple integrals, I was not
prepared for the test. The next time I took it, I reviewed the tested material beforehand, and re-learned some material that I had forgotten from Alg 2. As a result, I got an 800 on my second try. This had nothing to do with intelligence, (when I took the test I was doing Stokes' Therom in Multivariable) it had to do with my preparation for the test.
Some people don't need to study, they are already
prepared. Others, however, do need to review and practice to score high. It's not because they are not intelligent, but rather, because
they are not prepared.
That's the great thing about the SAT, it can equate different educational settings. Whether you came from a "presitigous" college preparatory, or a run-down public high school, your SAT score can put your achievements in perspective. If you maintained a "B" average at a difficult school, yet scored a 2250+ on the SAT, college admission officers would consider the difficulty of your school. Whereas if you mainted an "A+" average at a highschool, yet scored a 1700, admission officers may question your supposed "academic" success. An "A" student is someone who (theoritically) demonstrates "excellence" in their work. One cannot achieve excellence if one is not prepared (whether that is through studying, or inherently knowing the material). If one truly is an "A" student in school, they should be well-prepared, they should do well on a test that requires demonstration of preparation.
The SAT measures preparation for college and based of this, attempts to predict one's success in college. Although it may be considered an inductive leap to base one's success on one measly test, all who take the SAT understand it's importance. If you don't take the SAT seriously, it gives the impression that you will not take other important tests or assignments seriously as well.
Conclusively,
The SAT has no correlation to one's intelligence. The SAT measures preparation. A great deal of intelligence alone is not enough to succed in college. In fact, if one works hard, stays motivated, and never falters in his or her studies, he or she can be succesful in college even if he or she is of an "average" intelligence.
However...
It all depends on how one defines "intelligence." In my opinion, those who exude a neverfailing zeal for their studies do posses a unique "intelligence." In this sense, then yes, one could defintely claim that a high score requires a high intelligence. Nonetheless, I do not believe you were discussing this type of "intelligence."
The SAT is certainly useful.
