Here's a posted conversation that may help:Great question about the SAT.The SAT is timed, so no one is going to operate effectively by recalling and applying a matrix of rules.
Now even the UK is up-in-arms about the inadequacy of using standardized tests to access writing skills. Here are a couple of quotes from an article:
Head teachers fear some pupils
I started out thinking I might want to explain why all the folks griping about grammar (and punctuation and spelling) on the internet need to relax. Look, I love grammar