Faculty Members Might Get Their Way As Standardized Testing at CA Universities Could Make a Comeback

A few weeks ago, I brought you the story of faculty members throughout the University of California system who had signed an open letter demanding that standardized testing, such as SAT and ACT testing, be resumed. University professors said that they were being forced to reteach middle school math to incoming students. They may just get their way as the University of California (UC) announced on Thursday that it would open a thorough review of the system's standardized testing policy.

The University of California demands that entrance exams be reinstated

Professors say students are unprepared and need to be taught middle-school math pic.twitter.com/r9ptYCD3ga
— Interesting AF (@interesting_aIl) June 11, 2026

In a statement, UC President James B. Milliken said:

The Board of Regents and University leadership take very seriously the critical issue of college preparedness, and the UC Academic Senate has proposed a comprehensive, data-driven review to support its recommendations to strengthen student readiness and success at UC. There are few things more important on our agenda.

Milliken went on to say that the faculty-led Academic Senate would look at both preparation and admissions, and determine whether standardized testing should return as a requirement. The UC Board of Regents and Milliken are expected to get a first glimpse and update on the results of the review in July. As noted, weeks ago, more than 1,400 faculty members across all UC campuses had signed an open letter demanding the return of standardized testing, especially for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors. Seven of UC's nine mathematics department chairs signed on to the letter. The letter read in part:

We now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must re-teach middle school mathematics while simultaneously teaching the material students need for sciences, engineering, economics and other quantitatively demanding fields.

In addition to alarming statistics that show just how unprepared students are for university coursework, professors also warned that using a student's high school transcripts as a benchmark was "nearly meaningless" because of out-of-control grade inflation, and that, due to the widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI), application essays have been extremely compromised.

Professors at top California college forced to radically alter coursework as students struggle to read https://t.co/ixcD8rUCIT
— Jim Polk 🇺🇸 (@JimPolk) June 12, 2026

ALSO READ: Why Students Are Now Fleeing Data Science for 'AI-Proof' Education

But if you think this means that the UC system is abandoning college campus wokeism entirely, you would be wrong. The UC faculty members recognized that the university system had long helped "under-resourced" students to succeed, but also acknowledged the fact that pushing unprepared students into challenging fields like STEM is actually hurting those they are trying to help. The faculty letter further stated:

The SAT/ACT 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 Board of Regents will decide whether to reinstate SAT and ACT testing. The earliest that would happen would be with the 2028 admissions cycle. UC has now joined other universities like MIT, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, and the University of Texas-Austin, which have concluded that it might be a good idea to find out what incoming students know, and don't know, before they enter the classroom, and might actually help the low-income students they say they care about.

Sounds like UC professors are tired of cleaning up public education's mess.

Columbia University has reinstated standardized testing for admissions — the last Ivy League school to do it.

“Through a multi-year faculty review, it was determined that test scores, among other factors, were a useful indicator of potential student success.” pic.twitter.com/lQfyMX9pPJ
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) June 12, 2026

Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to ensure America's kids get the education they deserve.

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