UC Faculty Demand a Return to SAT Tests for STEM Applicants
fliptop writes:
More than 600 University of California faculty members, led by mathematicians at UC Berkeley, are calling on the system to reinstate standardized testing requirements for science, technology, engineering and mathematics applicants, saying that six years of test-free admissions has not reliably assessed readiness and professors are often teaching middle school math to incoming students:
Without standardized testing in admissions, professors said they don't know whether incoming students can handle college-level math. The open letter, addressed to top UC leaders, asks for SAT or ACT exams to be required beginning in fall 2027 and for STEM faculty to be given formal oversight of readiness standards in their majors.
"We now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must reteach middle-school mathematics while simultaneously teaching the material students need for sciences, engineering, economics, and other quantitatively demanding fields," they warned.
Over three years - from fall 2021 to fall 2023 - the letter said, at least 20% of Berkeley first-semester calculus students who took a diagnostic exam showed deficits. "Basic mathematical fluency is analogous to literacy; without it, success in university-level STEM becomes structurally unattainable for students," faculty wrote.
[...] 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.
[...] Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford and Caltech each restored standardized testing requirements for applicants in 2024 or 2025. USC is test-optional and scores are considered as part of holistic review, but students are not penalized if they do not submit them.
Previously:
- What in the World Is Going on in Our Public Schools?"
- Professors Issue Warning Over Surge in College Students Unable to Read
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