A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reports alarming statistics coming out of the University of California (UC) system. More than 1,100 University of California math and science professors are urging the UC Board of Regents to reinstate SAT and ACT requirements, arguing that eliminating standardized testing has left many students academically underprepared for college level STEM courses.
The UC system, like many colleges and universities, adopted a test-blind admissions policy in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic and the difficulty in administering standardized tests safely. Since that time, UC faculty report significant declines in student readiness. Preparation gaps are so severe that instructors are being forced to reteach middle-school mathematics. Nearly one third of first-semester calculus students at UC Berkeley showed serious preparation gaps, while UC San Diego saw remedial math placements rise from 0.5% in 2020 to 8.5% in 2025, or 1 in every 12 students.
Due to rampant grade inflation and AI-assisted essays, transcripts and other admissions materials have become less reliable. In 2024, more than one-quarter of UC San Diego students placed into remedial math classes had earned straight As in high school math. Similarly, Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, reported on a podcast that students at Stanford who are placed into remedial math classes have difficulty finishing even these classes.
An informal survey of UC Berkeley faculty revealed that 83% of professors across all departments supported a return to the use of standardized testing in admission. Thus, the crisis isn’t confined to math. Faculty at a majority of institutions contend that SAT and ACT scores provide an objective measure of academic readiness that helps identify students who are prepared to succeed.
The debate reflects a broader national trend. While more than 90% of colleges remain test optional, several elite institutions—including Yale, MIT, Stanford, and Dartmouth—have reinstated testing requirements, citing their value in evaluating student preparedness.
Finally, proponents of reinstating standardized testing cite the following facts:
1. Most schools are test-optional, but lots of students still take the SAT
The number of students taking the tests has steadily risen since they became optional.
2. Test performance is falling
• Last year, fewer than 40% of test takers met the benchmarks, which predict whether a student has a 75% chance of getting at least a C in a first semester, college-level math, writing or history course.
3. High School Grade Inflation has risen
• Tests are now more important than ever because, due to grade inflation, gpa is less useful.
4. Elite colleges are returning to requiring the tests
• This includes Yale, MIT, Stanford, Dartmouth and possibly the UCs, among others.
5. SAT scores have declined
• This provides further support for the trend in grade inflation and the colleges’ difficulties assessing students’ readiness without standardized testing.
The most selective institutions report that the use of test scores allows them to more accurately assess student readiness. Thus, acceptance rates will actually go up with a return to testing as colleges feel more able to accurately assess students. Acceptance rates fell to all-time lows since 2020 when standardized testing was eliminated. Recently, even under a test-optional policy, students who provided test scores fared better in the application review process, even if their scores fell at the lower end of the college’s 25th to 75th accepted student range.
Notwithstanding these facts, hundreds of colleges will remain test optional indefinitely. Testing remains an important part of the evaluation process. It is critical for prospective applicants to pay close attention to a college’s guidance and admission tendencies. The prevailing best practice is shifting toward sending scores when in doubt.
Testing is most important at colleges with acceptance rates at or below 10%. Test are less important at colleges that admit the majority of applicants. Notwithstanding the implications for admission, when students have test scores, they are better able to find a college that is a good match for their abilities and will fare better academically in college.
© Copyright September, 2026
Northcoast Educational Consulting
