In a climate where standardized tests are praised and vilified, depending on your point of view, comes a study from the State University of New York, showing a strong correlation between SAT score and eventual college graduation. Also notable is the graduation rate itself: At some schools, just over half of enrolled students completed their undergraduate degrees, even with grad-rate rises linked with more rigorous admissions policies. By raising the SAT bar, SUNY Stony Brook documented a grad-rate climb from 53.8 to 59.2 percent; at the regional college in Old Westbury, the grad rate nearly doubled -- from 18.4 to 35.9 percent -- when SAT requirements were raised, yet nearly two out of three students left school without a sheepskin. What happened to all the students who fell out of school along the wayside? The piece in today's Times doesn't ask or answer that question -- but it's a safe bet that it's the source of some serious soul-searching among the State Regents, parents, college admissions counselors, and educators state- and citywide.