One thousand University of California professors signed an open letter to the Board of Regents demanding that standardized testing be reinstated after it was removed during COVID for equity. They reveal that many STEM students are below middle school level in math.
“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,” the professors write in an open letter to the Board of Regents signed by seven of nine chairs of UC math departments.
“The SAT mathematics requirement is not an obstacle to equity; rather, it is a prerequisite for it. Failing to measure preparation gaps does not remove barriers; it moves them into the classroom, where they become harder to overcome.”
The new faculty letter says that “for three consecutive years, 20-30% of UC Berkeley first-semester calculus students who participated in mathematical diagnostic testing displayed severe preparation deficits.” Drop standards, and learning mastery declines. Imagine that, the Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote.
“Failing to measure preparation gaps does not remove barriers; it moves them into the classroom, where they become harder to overcome,” the professors write. “Obscuring preparation gaps harms both students individually and the university collectively. It offers the appearance of access while undermining the chance of success.”
Some still don’t get it and are claiming this is inaccurate information. They think the lag is only because they missed education during COVID. That isn’t it. Any idiot could predict this, but when people are seduced by ideology, they lose all reason and common sense.
Others just caved when they knew better.
As I pointed out back in January: many UC Regents spoke in favor of keeping the SAT on May 21, 2020, only to unanimously vote to ban it later in the same meeting. They succumbed to the fad of the moment, despite the taskforce report the UC itself commissioned showing that it was… https://t.co/L7gVs1AIjs pic.twitter.com/Kw5doadN8v
— Jelani Nelson (@minilek) May 28, 2026
Yale finally smartened up.
Yale is bringing back the SATs:
“SAT and ACT scores are strong predictors of a student’s future Yale academic performance” pic.twitter.com/b6HmXNLSBZ
— Neetu Arnold (@neetu_arnold) May 28, 2026