Is the SAT Obsolete?
Interesting story in Inside Higher Ed about the movement to make SAT and ACT scores optional at competitive-entry colleges:
Colleges that have conducted in-depth analyses of the value of standardized tests have frequently ended up questioning the tests' use. For example, the University of California recently studied whether SAT subject tests helped admissions decisions and found - generally - that they do not. Hamilton College, prior to abandoning an SAT requirement in 2006, conducted a five-year experiment being SAT-optional. During that time, the 40 percent of students who didn't submit SAT scores performed slightly better at Hamilton - a highly competitive liberal arts college - than did those who did submit scores. And in a finding consistent with studies at other colleges, Hamilton found that when it went test-optional, it received more applications from students at the top of their high school classes and many more applications from minority students.
reason on SAT's history here. Virgnia Postrel defends the test here.
