Dozens of faculty members across the University of California system are calling for the reinstatement of the SAT and ACT in undergraduate admissions, asserting that the university's "test-blind" policy has failed to enhance equity and has led to a decline in student readiness. This sentiment is echoed by sociology professor Gabriel Rossman of the University of California, Los Angeles, who stated that the policy, intended to reduce racial disparities in standardized testing, has proven counterproductive.
"One of the ironies of this is they got rid of the SAT in order to promote equity in enrollment," Rossman said. "The UC freshman class had been diversifying for the previous 20 years, and then it leveled off in 2020. In particular, the big change was the ratio of Latino students versus Anglo students. The numbers of Black and Asian students didn't change by nearly as much."
The University of California's Academic Council has directed the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS) to conduct a faculty-led review of standardized testing in admissions, following an open letter signed by over 3,000 faculty members from various disciplines, including social sciences, humanities, arts, business, and education.
These faculty members, while supporting a prior letter from STEM colleagues that focused on math preparation, extended the argument to include the verbal reasoning component of the SAT and ACT. They contend that admissions officers have lost a crucial metric for evaluating academic readiness, particularly for students from under-resourced schools, as noted by an analysis from The Oakland Report.
Concerns about academic preparation have also been raised by mathematics professors. Zvezdelina Stankova, a mathematics professor at UC Berkeley, warned of a significant drop in foundational math readiness among incoming students since the adoption of test-blind policies. Diagnostic data indicated that the percentage of Calculus I students deemed ready or nearly ready dropped from 71% between 2018 and 2020 to 51% between 2021 and 2023, with 17% failing to answer basic algebra questions correctly in 2023.
Neetu Arnold, a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute, expressed concern about losing an objective admissions metric and the potential "misallocation of talent." She argued that standardized tests can be more accessible to working-class students compared to expensive extracurricular activities.
Former UC President Janet Napolitano initiated the phase-out of standardized tests in 2020, citing equity concerns. The faculty pushing for their reinstatement are urging for a holistic admissions process that significantly incorporates academic merit. The BOARS is expected to oversee the review, with faculty hoping for a recommendation to reinstate the SAT and ACT.