Published • loading... • Updated
Doing the Math: UC Faculty Call for the Return to Standardized Testing After Shocking Decline in Skills
More than 600 faculty say six years of test-free admissions has left many incoming students unprepared for college-level math.
- More than 600 University faculty members, led by mathematicians at Berkeley, are calling on the system to reinstate standardized testing for STEM applicants, citing severe academic preparation gaps in incoming students.
- A joint report from the San Diego Academic Senate committee documented a roughly thirty-fold increase in underprepared first-year students between 2020 and 2025, with many earning high school grades masking their lack of basic math proficiency.
- Berkeley professor Zvezda Stankova observed 25 to 30 percent of students in a 2023 calculus class struggling in "free fall," while diagnostic exams showed at least 20% of first-semester calculus students showed deficits.
- Ahmet Palazoglu, chair of the Academic Senate, said the Board is addressing "timely topics tied to students' college readiness," while Rachel Zaentz said the system will continue strengthening instruction and support.
- The Board plans to submit an initial draft by Sunday and a final road map by June 30, though any policy change requires approval from the Regents before implementation.
Insights by Ground AI
11 Articles
11 Articles
Citing 'severe' math deficits, UC faculty demand a return to SAT tests for STEM applicants
Hundreds of University of California professors are urging the system to reinstate the SAT or ACT requirement for STEM majors by 2027, saying that the test-optional policy has created a widening preparation gap that threatens the value of UC science, technology, engineering and math degrees.
·Los Angeles, United States
Read Full Article
Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left1Leaning Right8Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution80% Right
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources lean Right
80% Right
R 80%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
