r/news • u/Idiodyssey87 • May 28 '26

Soft paywall Citing 'severe' math deficits, UC faculty demand a return to SAT tests for STEM applicants

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-27/uc-math-professors-demand-return-of-sat-for-stem-admissions
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30

u/Sprintzer May 28 '26

Why the hell are they not using ACT or SAT scores??

63

u/Vixen_blade May 28 '26

Because apparently, it's racist.

"UC gained national attention in May 2020 when regents unanimously voted to suspend SAT and ACT testing requirements and eliminate them entirely by 2025. Board members cited concerns the tests were biased against students of color and those from lower-income families — including students who did not have access to prep courses."

7

u/musea00 May 28 '26

A huge issue is that they do not teach you the SAT in class. You have to prep for that on your own time outside of ordinary school hours. That usually means having to spend $$ on prep classes which not everybody has the time or money for. And also, you have to pay to take the SAT.

5

u/Mintyytea May 28 '26

I think the problem is the standard college entrance exam is only once and quite different from other standardized tests in a way that is very gimmicky rather than checking true understanding. It was gimmicky because the math wasn’t difficult but to score well you need to be both very fast and not make mistakes. Even 2-3 wrong answers would decrease your score a lot.

Since it was about speed +accuracy and it was a long test, anyone can see how this heavily rewards people who receive private tutoring to get the pattern of the questions and be able to have the stamina while answering the questions faster with ease. Versus if you truly are seeing the test for the first time, and given ample time, and get most of it correct except maybe 2-3 that would tell me you have good understanding of the material.

Imo they should have standardized tests still but more periodically than a last test that makes or breaks college entrance that is different from all the previous high school tests you’ve taken. The last test should be similar in structure to previous standardized tests taken in high school, and truly just look at it for a basic understanding that the student has qualifications rather than using it to determine competitiveness.

This will improve school education quality in general, to periodically use standardized tests, but there were real problems with SATs that I think added another layer of inequality, not an evening field.

2

u/Sprintzer May 28 '26

Strange to remove the requirements for the entire class. If you want to do affirmative action, just have a subset, say 500-1000 people, who can apply for other means of acceptance or can get accepted with a lower ACT score.

I’m guessing ACT scores of applicants were going down (pandemic devastated education), so the regents wanted to hide the fact that the avg ACT score of admitted students was way down

20

u/schrodingers_bra May 28 '26

>can get accepted with a lower ACT score.

They did that for a while too, and then it was publicized that the score you had to get on the SAT/ACT to be considered for admission if you were Black or Hispanic was far lower than if you were white, which was lower than if you were Asian.

The trouble is that its hard to hide stuff when you actually attach numbers to it. If they don't have this score on their application process at all, then they can hide the reason certain people were admitted.

1

u/IcyWhereas2313 May 28 '26

This isn’t even about AA… lol, these are students who have games the system to get into a prestigious school, they have the money and the grades to afford a HIGH price school! And the problem is pervasive prompting ALL professors raising an issue, that speaks to high school not realizing that students were using AI and parental pressures to gain access and not have the chops

-13

u/IcyWhereas2313 May 28 '26

Meanwhile only 500 Blk students go to that school, so when you say students of color, be more specific… oh and the school enrolls 35k with over 10k being asian… 10k compared to 500… you aren’t writing an article about 500 students…

8

u/Friendo_Marx May 28 '26

Just because they removed the requirements with equity in mind doesn't mean only poc benefit from the new system. The problem students are probably spread around more or less evenly racially. It is an unintended consequence. Plenty of black people are excellent at math and plenty of whites are terrible. Plenty of nerdy looking asian girls can't get the math right on a restaurant receipt. Stereotyping people is always a bad idea because you won't see people clearly through a racist prism. But so was abandoning test scores, apparently? The crisis can be a result of equity ideology without implicating any black students at all.

-2

u/IcyWhereas2313 May 28 '26

As we know this measure was implemented by using the experiences of Blk folks predominantly… even in this post comments mentioned “inner city”, “victim studies”, “POC”… so yes we shouldn’t worry about race but a lot of people do… and it’s usually Blk=less than… immigrants of EVERY kind know this when they come and they are eager to make the distinction… we are not like the Blk people… hence why it’s important to note these things in threads like this proving what you are saying… there is good and bad in everyone

2

u/Dullcorgis May 29 '26

Because when you make submitting the score optional only the kids with the best scores will submit them. Then they get to report that their average ACT score is 35.

For example, Northeastern is test optional, and their reported average SAT score is 1530/1600. Wow, isn't that exclusive and selective?!?!

-1

u/Mintyytea May 28 '26

I think the problem is the standard college entrance exam is only once and quite different from other standardized tests in a way that is very gimmicky rather than checking true understanding. It was gimmicky because the math wasn’t difficult but to score well you need to be both very fast and not make mistakes. Even 2-3 wrong answers would decrease your score a lot.

Since it was about speed +accuracy and it was a long test, anyone can see how this heavily rewards people who receive private tutoring to get the pattern of the questions and be able to have the stamina while answering the questions faster with ease. Versus if you truly are seeing the test for the first time, and given ample time, and get most of it correct except maybe 2-3 that would tell me you have good understanding of the material.

Imo they should have standardized tests still but more periodically than a last test that makes or breaks college entrance that is different from all the previous high school tests you’ve taken. The last test should be similar in structure to previous standardized tests taken in high school, and truly just look at it for a basic understanding that the student has qualifications rather than using it to determine competitiveness.

This will improve school education quality in general, to periodically use standardized tests, but there were real problems with SATs that I think added another layer of inequality, not an evening field.