The SAT, the college admission standardized test, has been under siege for years. Many critics of the exam contend that the test does not correlate to academic success in college and skews toward wealthy parents who can afford send their children to pricey test preparation courses.  

In response to this controversy, some schools have become test optional, while many students have turned to the competing ACT exam. Traditionally taken by students in the South and Midwest, the ACT has made gains on the SAT for its emphasis on achievement rather than aptitude.

With its market share under threat, the College Board, which administers the SAT, redesigned the test and released a preview of test questions Wednesday. In  2016, students will take a new and improved exam. Overall, the new test places more emphasis on measuring real world reasoning abilities rather than mastery of head-scratching, multi-syllable words. The long-criticized writing section becomes optional. The test reverts to the 1600 top score system that many college-graduate parents would recognize.

Two psychology professors use this opportunity to plunge into the debate over the value of the test. David Hambrick of Michigan State University and Christopher Chabris of Union College take to Slate with a heretical proposition: The SAT, they argue, serves as an IQ test, one that can be a fairly accurate predictor of success in college and beyond.

Making the case for the SAT as IQ test is an endeavor strewn with landmines. IQ tests in the US have checkered history. In recent decades, works like The Bell Curve ignited a fierce debate about race and intelligence that continues to smolder.

Hambrick and Chabris do not wade into this muck, preferring to stay on somewhat safer, though shifting, ground. They highlight two studies: A University of Minnesota project that found that the SAT was a fairly good indicator, along with high school grades, of first year college success. A second Michigan State University study they cite found that the SAT can predict not only first year GPA, but a student’s GPA through his or her senior year.

The men use these studies to document their case that the test can predict whether a student will graduate and the likelihood of post college success. They also debunk links between socioeconomic status and SAT scores, finding the “correlation not trivial, but not huge.”

All of the above is merely a place setting for their contention the SAT is, at its core, a measure of intelligence. Hambrick and Chabris cover their bases and stress that IQ is not the be all and end all of human existence. However, IQ is a predictor of “who to hire or who to admit to a particular college or university.” They argue:

“The bottom line is that there are large, measurable differences among people in intellectual ability, and these differences have consequences for people’s lives. Ignoring these facts will only distract us from discovering and implementing wise policies.”

Which brings us back to the SAT. Academics can tussle over the merits of  achievement versus aptitude, but college classrooms are full of students who are not ready to be there. Until there is a seismic shift in that trend, many college and universities will continue to use the SAT as an important measure of whether a student is up to the academic rigor of college.

—GABRIELLE GURLEY  

BEACON HILL

Another state agency encounters website problems, as the Department of Revenue says heavy traffic on tax filing day bogged its website down and prevented people from filing their taxes electronically. The deadline for filing state taxes was extended until Friday, CommonWealth reports.

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

The Westford Board of Health raises the age needed to buy cigarettes and e-cigarettes from 18 to 21, the Sun reports.

John Insensee , the acting public works director in Lawrence, gets the job officially after being grilled about why he didn’t speak up earlier about former mayor William Lantigua’s pressure tactics to repave streets before last year’s election, the Eagle-Tribune reports. CommonWealth‘s latest issue maps Lantigua’s paving-for-votes plan.

A Braintree town councilor wants tougher regulations on door-to-door canvassers and solicitors in town including criminal background checks and stiff fines for violators.

Quincy officials will use part of the city’s Community Preservation Act funds to restore more than 250 gravestones in its historic downtown cemetery.

Fitchburg gets a $1 million state grant to help revitalize its downtown.

MARATHON ANNIVERSARY

Somber reflection marked the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, including a service that heard eloquent words from survivors as well as elected officials, including Vice President Joe Biden.

Notwithstanding all the bravery shown by first responders, “major mistakes” were made in last April’s conclusion to the hunt for the Tsarnaev brothers in Watertown, including indiscriminate gunfire that is probably responsible for the near-fatal friendly fire wounding of a transit police officer, says former Globe editorial page writer Tom Gagen.

A 25-year-old man is in custody after he dropped two backpacks, one of which he said contained a rice cooker, near the finish line of the Marathon last night. Police shut down the Green Line for a period of time and the bomb squad detonated the backpack where it was dropped.

CASINOS

Everett officials are rolling out an elaborate scheme to try to circumvent a potentially dead-ending roadblock for a casino there: City leaders want to use eminent domain powers to take the proposed casino site and then sell it to Wynn Resorts in order to get around concerns by the state gambling commission that ownership of the site could include secret partners with criminal backgrounds.

NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON

Michael Bloomberg prepares to spend $50 million building an organization to challenge the National Rifle Association, the New York Times reports.

Detroit cuts a deal with its retired police officers and firefighters.

ELECTIONS

Rep. Russell Holmes tells the Herald that jailed former lawmaker Carlos Henriquez is mulling a run for his old seat this fall. Henriquez will have just days to collect the signatures he would need to get on the ballot, once he’s released later this month.

Democratic Senate hopefuls have the early edge in the chase for campaign cash.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Siemens is donating more than $650 million in software to Massachusetts high schools and colleges to help train students for positions in advanced manufacturing. Two years ago, CommonWealth featured this Conversation interview with Northeastern University’s Barry Bluestone and Michael Tamasi, CEO of precision manufacturer AccuRounds, about manufacturing’s rosier than generally believed future in Massachusetts.

Moody’s Investors Services has lowered the ratings outlook for the for-profit Steward Health Care System.

Two local banks in the Newburyport area agree to merge, the Gloucester Times reports.

Two Massachusetts women are suing a company because its magic undergarments didn’t melt fat away as promised. Claims of deceptive marketing filed against companies showing images of a “real” Easter bunny can’t be far behind.

HEALTH CARE

A new study finds even light pot use affects young people’s brains, Time reports.

A new study finds teens who suffer concussions are more prone to suicide attempts, becoming bullies, and engaging in more risky behaviors.

TRANSPORTATION

The Lynn City Council explores whether to issue more taxi medallions, but existing owners say there are plenty of cabs already, the Item reports.

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Scientists at MIT and Harvard discover a way to store solar energy in microscopic molecules, rather than industrial batteries.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

A Westport man has been arrested and charged with stealing and scrapping his neighbors’ cars and scamming a tow truck company to haul off the vehicles.

The brother of Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone is arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman who had taken out a dozen restraining orders against him. Cosmo Curtatone allegedly told the victim that he was being protected by friends of his “political family.”

Federal investigators subpoenaed Katherine Russell, the former wife of Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, looking for items connecting Tsarnaev to a 2011 Waltham triple murder. Boston magazine detailed the failures to connect Tsarnaev to the Waltham murders last month.

MEDIA

News organizations, led by the Texas Tribune, explore ways to fund their enterprises.

What’s the right metric for news sites to use in measuring how well they’re doing?