The Anti-SAT Experiment Isn’t Going As Planned

Hundreds of professors across the University of California system are pleading with school regents to restore standardized admission tests, warning that students are arriving so underprepared that instructors are being forced to reteach middle-school mathematics. The two-page letter, signed by more than 1,100 math and science professors, argues that students are entering college without the ...

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Hundreds of professors across the University of California system are pleading with school regents to restore standardized admission tests, warning that students are arriving so underprepared that instructors are being forced to reteach middle-school mathematics.

The two-page letter, signed by more than 1,100 math and science professors, argues that students are entering college without the proper groundwork and training needed to succeed in rigorous STEM courses, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“We now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must reteach middle-school mathematics while simultaneously teaching the material students need for sciences, engineering, economics, and other quantitatively demanding fields,” the letter states. “UC has finite resources and can help only so many students.”

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The letter also noted that nearly one-third of students in a first-semester calculus course at UC Berkeley “displayed severe preparation deficits,” according to the Journal.

Faculty members pointed to several “warning signs,” including increased time spent teaching prerequisite material, a lack of readiness for advanced coursework, and “growing pressure to dilute quantitative rigor.”

“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,” the letter warns.

The University of California, along with many other universities, axed its SAT and ACT requirement in 2020, joining a broader movement among colleges and universities away from standardized admissions testing.

Supporters of the change argued that standardized tests were poor predictors of college success. The move also coincided with widespread disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic.

But UC, in particular, went further than many institutions. In 2021, it adopted a “test blind” admissions policy, meaning SAT and ACT scores would not be considered at all during the admissions process.

Following the letter from faculty, UC Academic Senate Chair Ahmet Palazoglu said the university is examining its policies and requirements, according to the Journal.