The New York Times’ Economix blog looks at SAT scores and the percentage of high school graduates who take the SAT by state, and finds that while few students take the SAT in the Midwestern states, those who do score very highly. The commenters point out that this is a case of selection bias: hardly anyone takes the SAT in the Midwest who isn’t trying to get into an Ivy League school; most students take the ACT instead. Via geoparadigm.