University of California Faculty Push for the Return of SAT in Admissions
In a bid to address academic preparedness among incoming students, certain University of California faculty members are advocating for the reinstatement of standardized tests like the SAT in the admissions process. The debate comes amid concerns about student readiness in demanding STEM fields.
NPR’s Eyder Peralta recently spoke with Zvezdelina Stankova, a mathematics professor at UC Berkeley, who is at the forefront of this movement. The discussion centered on the impacts observed since the University of California system dropped the SAT requirement in 2020. This change was initially implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote equitable admissions.
Professor Stankova shared, “Almost everyone applies to UC with exceptionally high GPAs and also AI-assisted essays. Everyone looks almost perfect on their applications, and there is no standard baseline that can be drawn to say the student can succeed in a rigorous STEM major or not.” She highlighted that students’ lack of math preparedness is becoming increasingly evident in classrooms.
In some instances, the lack of basic math skills among students has become a teaching challenge. “In one engineering class – was reported to us from other campuses, actually twice – students would stop the professor in the middle of a lecture to ask why one-half plus one-third equals five sixes, and the whole class has to stay to listen to the explanation,” Stankova explained.
With over 1,000 professors supporting her, Stankova has signed an open letter to the Board of Regents, urging the reinstatement of SAT requirements. She argues that the absence of these tests has placed a burden on the faculty and the university’s resources, impacting the quality of education.
The decision to eliminate test scores was partly influenced by a lawsuit claiming that the tests discriminated based on race, wealth, and disability. However, Stankova noted, “The ban from that settlement actually has expired,” meaning the path to reinstating the tests is open, though UC administrators have yet to respond decisively.
In response to the challenges faced by underprepared students, UC has introduced special courses to support them. However, Stankova pointed out that even with these interventions, the failure rate for unprepared students remains high, reaching up to 46% in some cases.
For now, the University of California administration’s stance on this issue remains unclear, leaving faculty like Professor Stankova waiting for a response to their calls for change.
