One advantage of the SAT is that it can identify promising students who have not been adequately challenged by their schools or encouraged to take tough courses. All are of great interest to colleges. It is easy to assume that would be the case, but it isn't. Over the past 10 years or so, students who take the SAT I have been taking more challenging academic courses in high school, not less, and this is occurring in every racial and ethnic group. The reasoning skill measured by the analogy section has been recognized as important for decades.
People learn just about everything through analogy.
Every time you approach a new situation, you rely on experience in similar situations to guide you through. I items may seem superfluous, but they are an efficient way to measure this important skill, and they are a good predictor of future college performance. This section of the SAT I also predicts success in college. The solutions to many of the items in this section require students to use figures and charts and to apply several math content areas at once, like geometry and algebra. It is unlikely that dropping the SAT I will stem the growth of the test prep industry and school-based test prep in California or anywhere else.