In an unusual public letter, over 200 University of California faculty members are demanding the return of standardized testing for STEM admissions, citing what they describe as "severe and worsening" math preparation deficits among incoming students.
This is remarkable because UC famously dropped SAT/ACT requirements in 2020, and the policy was widely celebrated as a victory for equity and access. Now, the very faculty who have to teach these students are saying the policy is failing.
The letter, signed by professors from UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, and other campuses, doesn't mince words: "We are seeing students admitted to engineering and science programs who lack fundamental mathematical literacy required for college-level STEM coursework."
The specific complaints:
• Students unable to manipulate algebraic equations • Lack of basic calculus readiness despite claiming AP credit • Inability to understand mathematical notation or proof structure • Fundamentally unprepared for physics, chemistry, and engineering courses that assume mathematical fluency
The faculty argue that test-optional admissions removed the only consistent signal of mathematical preparation. High school GPAs are inconsistent across districts and schools. AP courses vary wildly in rigor. Without standardized assessments, admissions officers have no reliable way to evaluate whether students can handle quantitative coursework.
The equity argument for dropping tests was that they favored wealthy students who could afford test prep. The faculty counter-argument is that admitting underprepared students into programs they'll fail isn't equity - it's setting them up for expensive failure.
And the failure rates are striking. According to data cited in the letter:
• First-year calculus failure rates at UC have increased 34% since 2020 • Physics 1 failure rates up 28% • Engineering retention rates (students who start in engineering and complete an engineering degree) down 19%
The students struggling most are exactly the demographic the test-optional policy was meant to help: first-generation college students and students from under-resourced high schools.
Here's the brutal reality: if you don't have the math background for engineering, you will fail engineering courses. You'll either switch majors (if you're lucky) or drop out (if you're not). You'll have wasted years and incurred debt pursuing a degree you were never equipped to complete.
UC's response has been to double down on remedial support. They've expanded tutoring, added bridge programs, created supplementary instruction. It hasn't worked. You can't fix 12 years of inadequate math education with a summer bridge program.
The faculty letter proposes bringing back standardized math assessments specifically for STEM admissions. Not the full SAT. Just a math placement test that establishes baseline quantitative readiness.
Predictably, this has triggered fierce backlash. Education equity advocates argue this is regression to discriminatory gatekeeping. Test prep companies are thrilled. Politicians are divided along predictable lines.
My take: the faculty are right, and we're doing students no favors by admitting them to programs they can't complete.
The real problem isn't testing. It's that American K-12 math education is failing to prepare students for STEM, particularly students in under-resourced districts. Test-optional admissions doesn't fix that. It just delays the reckoning from high school to college, where failure is more expensive.
If we want equity in STEM, we need to fix math education starting in elementary school. We need to ensure every student, regardless of zip code, has access to qualified math teachers and rigorous curricula.
Admitting unprepared students without addressing the underlying preparation gap isn't progressive. It's cruel.
The technology sector desperately needs more STEM graduates, particularly from underrepresented backgrounds. But those graduates need to actually graduate. They need to be prepared to succeed, not just admitted and then allowed to fail.
The SAT isn't perfect. Standardized tests have real biases. But pretending math preparation doesn't matter doesn't make students better prepared. It just makes failure more expensive.
