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Story perspectives

UC Faculty Push SAT/ACT Reinstatement Amid Rising Remedial Math

6/12/2026

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Summary

Story summary

UC Academic Senate formed a work group to review SAT, ACT and 11th-grade Smarter Balanced scores for freshman admissions, with change requiring Board of Regents approval.
Over 1,400 UC faculty (about 10 % of professors) signed a letter urging reinstatement of the exams for STEM programs.
Remedial math enrollment, which reached 1,160 in 2024, cannot return before fall 2028, while Caltech, Stanford and Ivy League schools have reinstated the exams.

History

Historical Context

Prompted by President Richard C. Atkinson’s 2001 call to drop aptitude tests, the University of California system halted SAT and ACT requirements for freshmen in 2002, joining a broader 1960-70s movement and a 2010s trend where over 1,200 U.S. colleges abandoned the exams. The shift reflected growing skepticism of standardized testing nationwide.

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Story summary

UC Academic Senate formed a work group to review SAT, ACT and 11th-grade Smarter Balanced scores for freshman admissions, with change requiring Board of Regents approval.
Over 1,400 UC faculty (about 10 % of professors) signed a letter urging reinstatement of the exams for STEM programs.
Remedial math enrollment, which reached 1,160 in 2024, cannot return before fall 2028, while Caltech, Stanford and Ivy League schools have reinstated the exams.

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