Son took S.A.T. this weekend and screwed up 1/3 of it.

[NHSparky]

I think a lot of it has to do is that the SAT doesn't necessarily "grade" on how well you'll do in school.  It's a score on how well you learned to take a particular exam.  I say this based off my experience prepping and taking the GMAT.  The GMAT didn't really test my knowledge, it tested how well I could take the GMAT.  It's pretty much useless in my opinion and I did well on it.  I've heard the GRE is even more of a joke. 

I have a GRE study guide at home and after thumbing through it I realized it was basically a test of how awake and sober you were the first two years of your undergrad degree.

[Splashdown]

I think a lot of it has to do is that the SAT doesn't necessarily "grade" on how well you'll do in school.  It's a score on how well you learned to take a particular exam.  I say this based off my experience prepping and taking the GMAT.  The GMAT didn't really test my knowledge, it tested how well I could take the GMAT.  It's pretty much useless in my opinion and I did well on it.  I've heard the GRE is even more of a joke. 

There have been studies done which support both sides of that issue (big surprise with academia), but believe it or not, the current thinking is that the SAT actually IS a fair predictor of college success. The test goes in and out of vogue every couple of years, but it still is a pretty weighty element of the college application process.

[DumbAss Tanker]

I have a GRE study guide at home and after thumbing through it I realized it was basically a test of how awake and sober you were the first two years of your undergrad degree.

I took it back in my senior undergrad year, and killed it (1480/1600), but really never had any occasion to use it, since I couldn't afford grad school anyway.  I joined the Army instead, then went to law school on GI Bill (And law school uses the LSAT, not the GRE), then picked up a couple of graduate degrees almost incidentally after that while working...the 'Cum laude' on the law degree was enough for the additional degrees, none of them cared about my outdated GRE score or wanted additional tests.

[formerlurker]

How can they judge a student's educational record without them, besides their transcripts? A student getting "a's in college prep classes would do much better than a student getting "a"s  in a level c classes

They are looking at high school transcripts to see a well-rounded student who applied themselves.   They are also placing greater emphasis on community involvement and sports much like the National Honor Society (although grades will always be the qualifying factor to submit an application, the successful NHS candidate will have great leadership experience and community work on their resume).

There are quite intelligent students who can ace tests but never apply themselves in any facet of their lives, to include classwork.    SATs are going the way of the dinosaur, especially in this age of technological advancement.