Yesterday, National Public Radio (NPR) ran a story about middle school students taking the SAT. The piece reports that more than 100,000 middle school students are taking the SAT each year.

Some are taking it for early practice so that they will do well when it actually counts for college entrance purposes (scores on the SAT aren't recorded or reported to colleges before a student's ninth grade year). Other students are taking it as part of the process of getting into the various talent search programs (e.g., Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University, Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, and the Duke University Talent Identification Program). All of the major talent search programs require high SAT scores as part of their admission process.

To listen to the story, visit "Taking the SAT, Graduating Middle School" on the NPR Web site.