UC speeds up process to reconsider SAT, ACT tests in admissions policies
Under national spotlight and with faculty members clamoring for immediate change, the University of California said Tuesday that it would work faster than initially planned to make a decision on bringing back standardized test requirements in its admissions policy for first-year undergraduates.
In June, hundreds of UC faculty from science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines signed an open letter calling for the reinstatement of tests like the SAT and ACT in the admissions process on account of widening gaps in math ability among students in their classrooms. A few days later, the Academic Senate announced a formal review process of its policies. This months-long process would result in recommendations to the Board of Regents no sooner than in the 2027-2028 academic year. The first cohort that could be affected by any policy changes would be those applying in the 2028 admissions cycle, it said.
Now, with faculty concerned about the “delay” and amid magnified public attention, that timeline is being revised. At a meeting Tuesday morning, Board of Regents Chair Maria Anguiano said she anticipates a recommendation from the Academic Senate within the 2026-2027 academic year.
“The goal of this review is not to rehash old questions or data but an opportunity to take a fresh look at how we define and evaluate college readiness in a rapidly changing world,” Anguiano said. “Our responsibility is not to begin with answers but with the discipline to ask better questions, to understand the evidence, to hear diverse perspectives, to deliberate thoughtfully and to make wise, long-term decisions.”
The Academic Senate, which represents faculty across the system, will lead the review process through the year while the board deepens its own understanding of the broad questions at hand, she said.
In a statement, Academic Senate Chair Ahmet Palazoglu confirmed a policy recommendation would be provided by June 2027. A new plan for the review process, he said, would be shared after the Academic Council meeting on July 22.
“Our processes may be perceived by some as slow, but they will certainly be deliberative and inclusive,” Palazoglu said in his comments to the board Tuesday.
The standardized testing debate
Faculty members leading the charge for SAT reinstatement want the change to be enacted in the 2027 admissions cycle. Several supporters of the cause called for the issue to be placed on the Board of Regents’ agenda for their next meeting in September.
“I want to call your attention to the psychological damage done to students who are thrown into math and science classes for which they are not prepared,” said UC Berkeley physics professor Robert Littlejohn in public comment. “Such students are subjected to intense stress, anxiety and ultimately crushing failure, as well as humiliation and damage to their academic record. They also waste their time and money. This is just one of the many negative consequences of the test-blind admissions policy.”
More than a dozen other supporters, including lieutenant governor candidate Gloria Romero, spoke in public comment in favor of reinstating standardized tests.
In their June 5 letter, STEM faculty drew attention to a “widening divergence” in math preparation levels within a single classroom. A 2025 report by the UC San Diego Academic Senate, for example, said the number of students with math skills below high school standards had increased thirty-fold between 2020 and 2025 — making up an eighth of the incoming 2025 class.
This results in instructors having to reteach middle school math, they said, while the level of course content drops below what’s needed for advanced STEM work.
“Left unaddressed, these trends will lead to declining graduation rates, longer time to degree, and reduced completion of STEM majors, with consequences for California’s highly skilled STEM workforce,” they wrote.
The letter currently has nearly 2,400 signatures. It was followed by a similar letter written by social sciences, humanities and professional faculty in support of reinstating standardized testing. That letter has more than 900 signatures. The UC system has more than 26,000 faculty employees.
But not everyone agrees. Groups like EdTrust-West and The Campaign for College Opportunity, which champion equity and access to higher education, pushed back and said standardized tests in UC admissions were biased against low-income and minority students.
“Core to the university’s mission is serving the broad diversity of California’s population. Returning to the use of a tool that disadvantages students by their backgrounds runs counter to that mission,” said Pamela Burdman, founder of policy institute Just Equations, in public comment.
In 2020, as critics of standardized tests made similar equity arguments, the UC system decided to remove the use of SAT and ACT test scores in admissions. At that time, an 18-member Standardized Testing Task Force convened by the Academic Senate had recommended that the use of SAT and ACT tests be continued.
However, then-President Janet Napolitano advised the Board of Regents to phase them out anyway and explore the creation of a UC-specific exam. These recommendations were approved and the standardized test requirements were removed beginning with the fall 2021 cohort. In the months after, the UC neither created a new test nor approved the inclusion of the Smarter Balanced assessment in its admissions policy.
Meanwhile, schools like Harvard University and Stanford University — which removed their standardized test score requirements as a result of pandemic-related disruptions — recently reinstated them. Both institutions cautioned that no score guaranteed admission and would instead be part of a “holistic” and “whole-person” process.
Now, discussions on college readiness in the UC system are set to begin right away. On Wednesday, the Regents will discuss the history and purpose of the A-G course requirements that high school students must complete to be eligible for entry to the UC system. The Academic Senate is also conducting a review of the A-G framework — a process that is not tied to the standardized testing timeline.
