UC Accelerates Timeline to Decide the Future of SAT and ACT Requirements

The University of California is moving to accelerate its decision-making process regarding SAT and ACT requirements following intense pushback from the faculty, scathing critiques from the political left and right, and a disavowal of the “experiment” of test-blind admissions from Janet Napolitano, the former president of the UC system who instigated the end of SAT/ACT requirements.

With the accelerated timeline, testing requirements could impact the class of 2029 (rising sophomores). This decision would have a tremendous impact on the culture of testing in California, where access to SAT and ACT testing has been diminished since the pandemic. If test requirements return to the flagship UC campuses, high schools across California will need to regularly administer these tests to their students to ensure they don’t have to travel hours to find a test center with available seats.

Faculty Revolt: Thousands Signed Petition Demanding Return of SAT/ACT

The faculty revolt began in May when a petition to reinstate SAT and ACT requirements gained traction and was picked up by the press. A few hundred faculty initially signed on, and within weeks, thousands of faculty had signed on to demand the return of SAT and ACT requirements for UC students. To date, over 3,200 UC faculty have signed the open letter penned by STEM faculty and the corresponding letter composed by humanities and social sciences faculty to protest the remarkable lack of preparation of students in STEM fields and the humanities.

Grade Inflation and Skill Deficits: The Data Driving the Revolt

The primary issue is that absent testing, coupled with rampant grade inflation, students are gaining access to the UC system with strong high school grades but lacking foundational math and verbal skills. Some key points made by faculty include:

• The percent of students entering UCSD requiring remedial math has increased from .5% to 12.5%, a 24-fold increase.
• Over 25 percent of students placed into the most remedial math course, covering elementary and middle-school arithmetic, had a 4.0 GPA in high-school math.
• For 3 years, 20–30% of UC Berkeley first-semester calculus students displayed “severe preparation deficits.”
• Verbal skills have broadly deteriorated: “After the SAT was dropped, I got students who could not write a sentence,” said Janet Sorensen, an English professor at Berkeley, as reported by The New York Times.

UC faculty are upset at how much time they are spending teaching remedial skills to students, impacting their ability to cover their course material. The faculty are demanding the return of SAT and ACT requirements as a way to ensure academic preparedness in incoming freshmen, and they don’t want to wait years for a change in policy.

How the Timeline Shifted

The all-powerful Board of Regents initially proposed a timeline that would have delayed this decision-making process for several years. Academic working groups were slated to meet from October 2026 to late April 2027 to evaluate the impact of reinstating test requirements, with a written report due in May 2027 and a preliminary evaluation to be presented during the June 2027 board meeting, delaying any impact on admissions criteria for years. The faculty expressed concern that “If the University of California does not change policy in the 2026-2027 academic year, this will lock in test-blind policy for the Fall 2029 entering class.”  They demanded faster action.

Media Pressure Mounts: The New York Times Weighs In

On July 6, a blistering critique of the UC test-blind policy was published prominently in The New York Times, endorsed by the Editorial Board, entitled, “A Great University Undermines Its Mission.” The Editorial Board of the NYT argued that test-blind admissions had failed the University and needed to be revoked. They wrote, “So far, the university’s leaders are ignoring the faculty’s plea for urgency….This delay could lock in the current policy until 2029.…The university’s trustees, known as the regents, have the final word. When they next meet, on July 14, they should have the courage to admit they made a mistake six years ago and reverse it.” They also quoted Janet Napolitano on record that test blind admissions at UC “was a worthwhile experiment, ….but as the results come in, it is increasingly clear that the experiment needs to be revisited.” That quote from the former president of UC, who had called for an end to testing requirements, was hard for the Regents to ignore.

Regents Pivot: New Schedule Could Impact Class of 2029

Eight days later, on July 14, the Board of Regents met, rescinded the original proposed timeline, and announced that it would move with greater haste to resolve this question. Board of Regents Chair Maria Anguiano said she anticipates “a recommendation from the Academic Senate no later than the end of this academic year.” The timing of the recommendation matters. If the Regents review the proposal from the Academic Senate and reinstate test requirements within the coming academic year, it will most likely mean that test requirements will come into effect for rising sophomores, the graduating class of 2029. These students would have their junior year (2027-2028) to complete SAT/ACT testing in order to apply with scores in the fall of 2028. It seems next to impossible that any changes to the testing policy could impact rising juniors, as they would need adequate notice and time to prepare for and take these tests. The Regents will move more quickly, but not that quickly.

Will the Pressure on the Regents Remain? What’s Next for UC

It is highly anticipated that the Academic Senate, comprised of UC faculty, will recommend that UC return to test requirements, given that its members voted unanimously, 51-0, to maintain testing requirements back in April 2020, before being rebuffed by the Regents, and given that over 3,000 UC faculty have now signed their names to petitions advocating the return to testing requirements.

The UC brand has been tarnished by accusations of enrolling remedial students, lacking foundational preparation in math and reading. The Board of Regents is feeling pressure to do something to preserve the storied reputation of UC. Will the pressure remain when the Regents move to a vote on the testing policy later in the academic year? Or will this pressure campaign fail as the news cycle moves on?

If the pressure holds and the media scrutiny continues, there is a reasonable chance the Regents will reverse course on testing, particularly given the new Board leadership that is much less critical of the role of standardized testing. This change would not be without precedent. Another prominent California institution, Caltech, made the transition from test-blind to test-required, and the University of California could absolutely follow suit.

We will learn more during this academic year as the Academic Senate meets and eventually puts forth its recommendation to the Board of Regents. We should have an answer by next summer regarding whether the Regents will stand by the UC faculty or again reject their wishes. Rising sophomores considering applying to UC should certainly take note, as this will directly impact their applications. We will keep you updated as this story develops.