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The University of California has asked an academic committee to review its use of standardized tests after eliminating SAT and ACT scores from admissions in 2020. The committee is due to report by Feb. 12, and the Academic Senate plans to make recommendations by June; no decision to restore a test requirement has been announced.
The University of California is reviewing whether to bring standardized tests back into admissions, six years after it stopped using SAT and ACT scores to evaluate freshman applicants. UC leaders have asked an academic committee to deliver a report by Feb. 12, with the Academic Senate expected to propose recommendations by June; the Board of Regents has final authority, and no decision to restore a testing requirement has been announced.
The review comes amid disagreement over how students are faring under the test-blind admissions policy. About 3,000 current and former UC professors recently backed two open letters calling for tests to return. They say they are seeing weaknesses in students’ math and writing skills and argue that standardized tests could help identify applicants who may not be prepared for UC coursework. The faculty members represent a small portion of the system’s roughly 26,000 faculty.
Available systemwide indicators do not show the declines predicted by a UC task force in 2020. The report says that graduation rates and second-year return rates have risen since the test policy changed, while average freshman GPAs have increased since 2021, the first entering class under the new approach. Those measures do not establish that every student is adequately prepared, nor do they settle whether test scores would improve admissions decisions.
The UC Student Association, which represents about 237,000 undergraduates, wrote to the regents in July opposing a return to the SAT or ACT. It argued that tests would not produce better-prepared students and pointed to increased racial and ethnic diversity at UC since 2020. Whether the regents will hold a vote after receiving the academic recommendations remains unclear.
The Stakes in UC Admissions
The decision could affect how a major public university system evaluates applicants and what evidence it uses to judge readiness for college. If the regents restore testing, UC would shift away from a fully test-blind policy, under which admissions offices do not consider SAT or ACT scores—even when students submit them. A return could instead take different forms, and the review has not yet specified what options will be recommended.
The debate also concerns fairness and access. Supporters of test-free admissions argue scores reflect unequal access to preparation and other advantages associated with family income. Advocates for testing say scores can provide information about academic preparation that grades alone may not capture. The outcome matters to applicants, families and schools because it could change what information students are expected or allowed to provide.
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How UC Ended Test-Based Admissions
In 2020, the UC Board of Regents voted unanimously to stop using SAT and ACT scores in freshman admissions. The decision followed arguments that the tests could disadvantage lower-income students and students of color. At the time, the UC Academic Senate had supported keeping the SAT, while the regents concluded that its potential benefits did not outweigh concerns about unequal outcomes.
The policy differs from test-optional admissions, in which applicants may submit scores but are not required to do so. UC is test-blind: scores are not considered in admissions. Across the country, many selective colleges that suspended testing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic have since returned to requiring or accepting scores. Research on the tests remains contested: some studies cited by testing advocates find scores predict college performance, while critics argue scores are shaped by wealth and that high school grades reflect a broader record of achievement.
At a September regents meeting, UCLA enrollment official Gary Clark said the campus had admitted students with a wide range of SAT results before the policy change. In 2019, he said, half of admitted students scored between 1,280 and 1,530 out of 1,600. The example reflects UCLA’s prior admissions range; it does not indicate what a future UC testing policy would require.
““[It] does not believe SAT/ACT will result in better prepared students.””
— UC Student Association
What the Review Could Recommend
No recommendation or reinstatement decision has been announced. The committee’s report is expected to lay out its findings, but the source report does not specify whether it will favor a return to testing, continued test-blind admissions or another approach. It is also unknown whether the Board of Regents will schedule a vote after the Academic Senate submits its recommendations.
The evidence cited in the debate does not resolve the central question by itself. Improved averages in retention, graduation and freshman GPA do not rule out preparation problems among some students; professors’ accounts do not establish that standardized testing would identify or address those problems. The predictive value of test scores, their relationship to income and how they would be used in any new policy remain disputed.
Report and Regents Review
The academic committee is due to submit its detailed report by Feb. 12. The UC Academic Senate is then expected to propose recommendations by June, after which the Board of Regents will have the final say on whether to require SAT or ACT scores. The timing and form of any regents action have not been confirmed.
Until that process produces a recommendation and the regents act, UC admissions remain test-blind under the existing policy. Applicants should rely on current UC admissions guidance for the rules that apply to their application cycle; the review alone does not change what scores are considered.
Key Questions
Has UC decided to bring back the SAT?
No. UC is reviewing its policy, but no decision to restore an SAT or ACT requirement has been announced.
When will UC receive recommendations?
An academic committee’s report is due by Feb. 12. The Academic Senate is expected to propose recommendations by June. The Board of Regents has final authority.
Does test-blind mean test-optional?
No. In a test-optional system, applicants may submit scores, and admissions offices may consider them. Under UC’s test-blind policy, SAT and ACT scores are not considered in admissions.
Why are UC faculty calling for tests to return?
About 3,000 current and former professors say they see weaknesses in students’ math and writing skills and believe tests could help assess preparation. Their view is contested, and it does not represent all UC faculty.
What is the argument against restoring the SAT?
Critics argue scores can reflect differences in family income and access to test preparation, and the UC Student Association says testing would not make students better prepared. Research cited in the broader debate reaches different conclusions about how well scores predict college performance.
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