Standardized testing will soon be a thing of the past at UC.
The Board of Regents at the University of California met on Thursday to discuss dropping standardized testing requirements for their admissions process. In a landmark vote, the decision to end the requirement was passed unanimously by the board, and will be put into action soon.
“Today’s decision by the Board marks a significant change for the University’s undergraduate admissions,” University of California system president Janet Napolitano said. Napolitano was the one who proposed the change, adding that the university should create its own test that better reflects its values and requirements.
SAT and ACT testing requirements will be suspended for all freshman applicants to the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley from now through 2024. After that, the testing requirements will be dropped entirely.
“I think this is an incredible step in the right direction toward aligning our admissions policy with the broad-based values of the University,” UC Board of Regents Chair John A. Pérez said in a press release. “I see our role as fiduciaries and stewards of the public good and this proposal before us is an incredible step in the right direction.”
For 2021-22 and 2022-23 freshman applicants, the submission of test scores will be optional, so if applicants already have test scores available, they can submit them with their application if they so choose. UC will be working on its personal test during this time, though by 2025, SAT and ACT requirements will be dropped whether the UC test is ready or not.
This could be a landmark moment in college admissions. Debates have run for years on whether standardized testing represents all students fairly, with some stating that it skews unfairly toward wealthier, more influential families.
“These tests are incredibly sensitive to socioeconomic status and race and have nothing to say about the individual,” said Alisa Hartz, an attorney with Los Angeles’s Public Counsel.
