UC to consider reinstating SAT, ACT tests after faculty say students are deficient in math

The University of California (UC) is weighing whether to reinstate SAT and ACT test requirements for admissions, six years after dropping them. The move comes after pressure from over 1,400 UC professors—many in STEM fields—who signed an open letter citing severe gaps in student math preparedness, requiring instructors to reteach middle-school-level material. A UC San Diego study from fall 2025 found a 30-fold increase since 2020 in first-year students scoring below high school math proficiency, with 70% testing below middle school levels. The UC-wide Academic Senate’s Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools announced it will convene a work group to study the issue, including SAT/ACT scores and California’s 11th-grade Smarter Balanced Assessment results. The decision will ultimately rest with the UC Board of Regents, with any change taking effect no earlier than fall 2028. UC Academic Senate Chair Ahmet Palazoglu, a chemical engineering professor at UC Davis, emphasized the need for a deliberate, evidence-based approach to address widening college readiness gaps. The reversal aligns with a broader trend among elite universities like Yale and Caltech, which have reintroduced standardized testing. The UC review will examine both the advantages and disadvantages of relying on test scores, with faculty, admissions experts, and state education representatives participating in the discussion.