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The SAT is said to correlate about as well with IQ as two different IQ tests correlate with one another. In his book Real Education (pg 69-70), Charles Murray claims that only 17 year olds capable of getting an 1180+ on the post 1995 SAT (Critical Reading + Math) are true college material. Although 35% of American 17 year olds take the SAT, he estimates that only 10% of 17 year would score 1180+ if all of them took it.. In other words, 1180+ is equivalent to an IQ of 120+.
In his book Coming Apart (pg 375) he estimates an SAT score of 1400 is equivalent to an IQ of 135. From these two data points, we can create the following formula for converting SAT into IQ equivalents:
IQ = 39.545 + 0.068(SAT score)
Note, this formula only applies to the post 1995 SAT. Before 1995 the SAT was much harder.
This formula works well for individuals, but should never be used to estimate the median IQ of a college. This is because elite colleges select for SATs, so the estimated median IQ will be artificially inflated by a selection bias.
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That formula does result in reasonable IQ scores for each SAT score.
Neat.
That is absolutely the most reasonable formula I’ve ever seen for SAT/IQ. It doesn’t over- or underestimate, from what I can see.
Glad you like it. Keep in mind it’s only valid for post 1995 scores
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SAT requires learning and application of learned material, while IQ requires nothing but brain power, the ability to read, and the ability to use a pencil (if computerized, even less); this is why it astounds me that employers seek SAT scores when what they are really after is *relative intelligence*. It may be true that someone who scores highly on the SAT probably has a high IQ, but it most certainly isn’t the case that someone who scores relatively poorly on the SAT should be assumed to be an idiot. In my case, school was boring, so I stopped attending. I scored ~1200 (impressive, given my lack of *learning*), yet my IQ is above 140. I hesitate to assume that I’m an extreme outlier.
Prior to 1995, an SAT score of 1200 was quite high.
What IQ test did you score 140 on?
SB, SD15. Granted, it was long, long ago. 🙂
No–it was post ’95, unfortunately (correlating to a 120 IQ). I can tell you this, however: my sister scored 1400+, pre-95; my IQ was revealed to be within two points of hers (same-day testing) So, we simply don’t know how many people have underperformed on the SAT due to a disinterest in rudimentary education (let’s face it–the average high school can’t accommodate people much smarter than its teachers).
(It may be the case that the SAT is used by employers as some sort of gauge of inherent social class, of course [we know that this is likely more important than intelligence, in many cases–it’s often referred to as “cultural fit”) 🙂
(Pardon any apparent bitterness; with multiple Master’s degrees, I shouldn’t be asked what my nearly twenty-year-old SAT scores were in order to quality for employment, *if* what they’re after is the cream of the intellectual crop.) (They should give me a damn IQ test, if it can’t be otherwise be assumed that I’m likely above average.) 🙂
So, because I scored poorly on the SAT, I had to go to a state school (sigh…); no matter what happened from that point forward, I scored 1200 and went to a state school. There is no redemption. Your SAT score is held against you, no matter what the circumstances were, no matter what your actual level of intelligence is, *for the rest of your life*. I could join MENSA, but so what–I only scored 1200 on the SAT. What should this tell us about prospective employers? (They either don’t know what they’re doing, or they don’t know what they’re doing.) 🙂
Anyway, I’ve gone off on a ranting tangent, here…. 🙂 Points are, low SAT != low intelligence by necessity or even strong correlation (though the inverse may be true), and SAT doesn’t only affect college admissions (regardless of its actual merit, real-world).
(However, I did hit 99 on the ASVAB. 🙂 What’s the correlation between ASVAB and IQ? I can tell you that a couple of my peers, who later attended Ivies, didn’t hit 99. 🙂 )
The ASVB correlates very highly with IQ; as well as 2 excellent IQ tests correlate with one another
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Wow my iq scores ( based on online iq quizzes), was almost identical to my iq based on the sat formula!
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