SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 19 (Our California Times) — The University of California is once again weighing whether SAT or ACT scores should count in undergraduate admissions. For California families, the biggest question is practical: if UC changes course, would students have to add standardized test prep back into their college plans?
Not yet. UC has not chosen a test, and no change can happen until faculty complete their review and the Board of Regents gives final approval.
Why is this debate back now?
UC Regents voted unanimously in 2020 to drop the SAT and ACT requirement. Since then, UC admissions has operated without those scores as a required part of the process.
The issue returned after faculty members pushed UC to take another look at whether students are arriving prepared for college-level math and writing. In response, UC launched a shared-governance review, which means faculty review comes first and Regents make the final decision.
UC officials have said the review is being handled by two faculty-led work groups. One is studying whether UC should require the SAT, ACT or Smarter Balanced, the state test used in California public schools. The other is looking at high school course requirements for UC admission, including the A-G classes students need to qualify.
How does UC make a decision like this?
UC policy changes do not happen with one vote from the Regents alone. The university uses a shared-governance process in which faculty help shape academic policy before the Regents act.
Ahmet Palazoglu, chair of the UC Academic Senate, said in a UC Office of the President statement: “The Academic Senate is not rescinding its commitment to a comprehensive review of standardized testing in admissions.”
That review matters because it could shape what students need to do years before they apply. A return to testing would affect when students register for exams, how often they test, and what guidance counselors and teachers tell families to expect.
When could any change take effect?
UC has said that if testing returns, the earliest it could affect admissions would be the fall 2028 application cycle.
At the July Regents meeting, Regents Chair Maria Anguiano said, “We anticipate a recommendation from the Academic Senate no later than the end of this academic year.” UC officials said that timeline points to around June 2027.
That accelerated schedule is a change from the Senate’s earlier plan, which had pointed to a later final report.
Who wants testing back — and who does not?
The debate has drawn strong opinions from both faculty and students.
More than 1,400 STEM faculty signed one open letter asking UC to reconsider standardized testing. Another set of open letters gathered more than 3,000 faculty signatures in support of a review.
Supporters argue that test scores can give admissions officers one more data point about academic readiness. They do not have to be the only factor.
Former UC President Janet Napolitano has said a test score “shouldn’t be a sole factor” in deciding access to UC, but that a new review could conclude it should be “a factor.”
The UC Student Association, which represents students across the system, has opposed bringing standardized tests back. The group has said restoring them would not improve student preparedness.
What about UC’s earlier legal fight over test scores?
UC’s move away from the SAT and ACT was also tied to litigation. Later court-related limits kept UC from considering SAT and ACT scores in admissions through spring 2025, according to summaries of the settlement.
That history matters because it shows how contested the issue has been. UC is not starting from scratch; it is revisiting a policy that has already changed once, then been shaped again through legal action and faculty review.
What should California families watch next?
The key dates are the Academic Senate recommendation and the Regents’ final vote. If the Senate recommends bringing a test back, the Regents would still have the last word.
Families should also watch which test UC would choose, if any. So far, UC has not said whether it would favor the SAT, the ACT, Smarter Balanced or another option.
For now, the debate is about more than a test score. It is about how UC measures college readiness, what counts in admissions, and how much weight the system should give to a single exam versus grades, coursework and other parts of a student’s record.
