SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 19 (Our California Times) — University of California leaders are again considering whether SAT or ACT scores should play a role in undergraduate admissions, a change that would affect how California high school students prepare for UC campuses and when schools would start talking about test prep again.
The review does not mean the tests are back yet. UC is working through its shared-governance process, which means faculty review comes first and the UC Board of Regents would still need to approve any final change. If testing is restored, UC has said the earliest it could affect applicants would be the fall 2028 application cycle.
What is UC reviewing?
UC has created two faculty-led work groups. One is looking at whether the university should require a standardized test such as the SAT, ACT, or the Smarter Balanced exam. The other is reviewing high school course requirements for UC admission.
That matters because UC admissions rely on more than one measure. Grades, the courses a student takes, essays, and other factors are part of the review. Supporters of a test requirement say a score could be one more way to judge readiness, especially in math and writing. Critics say test scores can reflect access to tutoring and test prep as much as academic ability.
Former UC President Janet Napolitano has said a standardized test score “shouldn’t be a sole factor” in deciding access to UC, but she has also said a renewed review could conclude it should be “a factor.”
Why is this debate happening now?
The conversation picked up after faculty members pressed UC to reconsider how well students are being prepared for college-level work. More than 1,400 STEM faculty signed one open letter, and another set of letters gathered more than 3,000 faculty signatures calling for a fresh look at standardized testing.
At the same time, the UC Student Association has opposed bringing the tests back. The student group has said restoring standardized testing would not improve student readiness.
This is one reason the issue has drawn so much attention at recent UC Regents meetings: it is not just a policy question, but a decision that could shape how high schools, teachers, and families plan for college admissions.
What happened the last time UC dropped the tests?
The UC Board of Regents voted unanimously in 2020 to eliminate SAT and ACT requirements.
That change did not end the dispute. UC’s admissions policy later became part of litigation, and one summary of the settlement says the university agreed not to consider SAT or ACT scores in admissions through spring 2025. UC also had discussed creating a new UC-specific test, but one report says that test was never developed.
The result is that UC has spent years without a regular admissions test requirement, even as the university has continued to debate whether that was the right move.
How does UC make a change like this?
UC uses a shared-governance system. In practice, that means faculty review a proposal first, then UC leaders and the Regents can act on it.
Ahmet Palazoglu, chair of the UC Academic Senate, said in a UC Office of the President statement that “The Academic Senate is not rescinding its commitment to a comprehensive review of standardized testing in admissions.”
Regents chair Maria Anguiano said at a July Regents meeting, “We anticipate a recommendation from the Academic Senate no later than the end of this academic year.” UC has described that timing as around June 2027.
The timeline is important because UC has said any reinstated testing requirement would not begin immediately. Even if the faculty review and Regents approval move ahead, the earliest possible start would still be the fall 2028 application cycle.
What is still unknown?
Several basic questions are still open.
UC has not said whether it would bring back the SAT, the ACT, the Smarter Balanced test, or some other option. It also has not said whether any new requirement would apply to all applicants or only to certain students or programs. The sources do not show a final Regents vote on reinstatement.
That means the current debate is really about the shape of future admissions, not a finished decision. For California families, the most practical takeaway is that high school planning could change again, but not before UC’s faculty review ends and Regents act.
For now, UC is still in the middle of deciding whether standardized testing belongs in admissions at all, and if it does, how much weight it should carry.
