The University of California on Thursday voted to phase out SAT/ACT exams for admissions requirements starting in 2021 and examine the possibility of creating its own test to close an inequity gap and recruit a more diverse college population.

The UC system will end standardized testing requirements for four years, and if a new test is not feasible by 2025, the SAT/ACT will remain permanently dropped, regents discussed at Thursday’s board meeting.

The decision passed unanimously 23-0.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, testing requirements were already made optional earlier this year for fall 2021 applicants. The vote extends that another year, and then makes the admissions process “test blind” for 2023 and 2024. Scores for these years won’t be used for admittance but may be used for scholarship consideration, the statewide admissions guarantee, and post-enrollment course placement.

Academic senate report

UC President Janet Napolitano brought the recommendation to the board following a report that evaluated the effectiveness of SAT/ACT testing in reducing socioeconomic and racial gaps in college admissions.

The report found that the UC weighs test scores less strongly than GPA, and scores don’t have much bearing on student diversity. The report did not recommend dropping standardized testing.

“The Task Force did not find evidence that UC’s use of test scores played a major role in worsening the effects of disparities already present among applicants and did find evidence that UC’s admissions process helped to make up for the potential adverse effect of score differences between groups,” the report read.

But the report concluded that “if standardized test scores must be compensated in order to achieve the entering class sought by UC, that is reason to question whether it is necessary to use the tests at all, and/or whether it is possible to design an alternative instrument that does not require such compensation.”

College Board responds

The College Board, which administers the SAT, says about 56,000 students every year use the test. The UC’s decision “will likely cause many of these students to limit their college options much earlier in the college search process or to take multiple college entrance tests,” the organization said in a statement to The Bee.

“Regardless of what happens with such policies, our mission remains the same: to give all students, and especially low-income and first generation students, opportunities to show their strength. We must also address the disparities in coursework and classrooms that the evidence shows most drive inequity in California.”

Officials for the ACT did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. However, in a letter to regents on Monday, ACT officials called the decision a “far-reaching” one that would “send ripple effects across the broader education community — all compounded by the additional anxiety and unsettled landscape presented by the COVID-19 crisis, a massive state budget deficit that includes significant state funding adjustments to the University of California (UC) system and your pending leadership transition to a new president.”

Napolitano is stepping down from her position in August.

‘One evil for another?’

In a different letter sent to the regents on Monday, 31 education and civil rights organizations urged the board to drop ACT/SAT testing, citing unequal access for students.

“For decades, eligibility and admissions policies requiring standardized tests have given affluent, over represented students preferential treatment in college access as they are more likely to purchase expensive test preparation, instruction and guidance for standardized tests,” the letter read.

“While those privileged students fill coveted, at-capacity seats across the UC, highly capable, low-income, Black, Latinx, Native American, and subgroups of Asian students are too often denied access to our state’s premier research institutions.”

The University of California’s 10 campuses serve over 280,000 students, and 37% of students are from low-income backgrounds, according to the university.

Critics say standardized test scores are good indicators of whether a student will do well in college and earn a degree, and wiping out the exams could leave some students with one less way to show their academic strength.

UC regents on Thursday were unsure of the feasibility and costs of creating a new test, and some wondered if the alternative would just bring about the same problems.

“We should do a feasibility study by January, at which point we could conclude that a new test is not feasible and stop that project altogether,” Napolitano said. “Or, more likely, we would have designed a path forward to a new test.”

“Are we not exchanging one evil for another?” asked Regent Sherry Lansing.

Vice-Chair Cecilia Estolano called the tests racist, and a way to weed out people.

“We’ve done a tremendous job of working around the reality of this test because we’re brilliant in this institution,” she said. “But, it’s still a test that is a proxy for privilege.”

Proposal is not perfect

The proposal is not new. UC officials have been discussing the value of SAT/ACT scores in the admissions process for about two years, according to Napolitano. But the coronavirus pandemic has allowed the administration to explore ways to create a better admission process.

Regents acknowledged that the proposal isn’t perfect, and some had concerns.

Officials said that for 2021 and 2022, test scores would be used as a “value add,” meaning they can add value to student’s application, but it won’t affect selection.

“I just think ‘value add’ means that if you send in a good SAT score, you have an advantage over somebody ...” Regent Lark Park said. “I have concerns with that, but there’s no perfect solution at this time.”

Park wished the dropping of the tests would be a more immediate break as opposed to five years.

“This is about access,” she said. “This isn’t about, oh my gosh, are we letting in the wrong people. I can find no principle that says we need the SAT.”

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Students no longer need the SAT to get into the University of California. Here’s why."