Test critique

Much has been written about the relationship between students’ SAT test scores and their family’s income.  Generally speaking, there is a strong positive correlation between income and SAT scores.  Consider and discuss the following questions as you respond:

• What does this correlation tell you?
• Is this correlation evidence that having a high family income causes one to have high SAT scores?
• Is this correlation evidence that high SAT scores are a cause of higher income?  Or, does this tell you something else?  Explain your answer.
• Explain why correlation alone is rarely sufficient to demonstrate cause.