The University of California (UC) admissions board announced that it will consider reinstating standardized tests in its admissions process.
In a letter sent to colleagues, UC Academic Senate Chair Ahmet Palazoglu said the school system will “undertake a comprehensive review of key admissions policies, specifically the role of standardized testing and the effectiveness of UC’s college-preparatory framework, commonly known as the A-G subject requirements.” The review comes as “it has become clear that academic preparedness for college is a growing challenge,” Palazoglu wrote. “The widening gap in college readiness among high school graduates is not a new phenomenon but rather an ongoing issue, likely driven by many factors affecting admissions and students’ academic success across the country.”
University of California President James B. Milliken said in a June 11 statement that the review will “focus on both preparation and admissions, including whether standardized testing should be required.”
“It’s important that UC gets this right,” he wrote. “The UC Board of Regents and I will receive an update on the Academic Assembly’s work in July, and we look forward to considering the recommendations that emerge from this important work.”
Earlier this year, more than 500 University of California professors signed an open letter demanding that the board reinstate standardized testing requirements, citing a 30-fold surge in incoming students who cannot perform middle school-level arithmetic.
The letter, circulated Sunday and co-authored by five UC Berkeley faculty members, warned of “preparation gaps so severe that instructors must re-teach middle school mathematics” while simultaneously attempting to teach calculus, engineering principles, and economics.
“Furthermore, the widening spread between underprepared and well-prepared students creates polarized courses, weakening the foundation available to many students and making it harder to teach at the level required for advanced STEM work,” the professors wrote.
