SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 19 (Our California Times) — The University of California is once again weighing whether SAT or ACT scores should be part of undergraduate admissions.
The change is not immediate. UC officials say any new testing rule would need to move through faculty review and then win approval from the UC Board of Regents, and the earliest it could affect applicants would be the fall 2028 application cycle.
Here is what is being debated, why it matters, and what could happen next.
How did UC get here?
In 2020, the UC Board of Regents voted unanimously to remove SAT and ACT requirements from admissions.
Later, the university’s test policy became tied up in litigation and settlement-related limits. One summary of that history says UC agreed not to consider SAT or ACT scores in admissions through spring 2025, while still allowing limited uses such as placement and scholarships.
UC is now reviewing whether testing should return in some form.
What exactly is under review?
UC has set up two faculty-led work groups. One is studying whether UC 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 does not make a testing decision in one step. Under the system’s shared-governance process, faculty review comes first, then the regents make the final decision.
UC Academic Senate chair Ahmet Palazoglu said the Senate is continuing its review of standardized testing in admissions. Regents chair Maria Anguiano said at the July regents meeting that the Senate should send a recommendation by the end of the current academic year, around June 2027.
Why is the debate happening now?
The push to revisit testing has come from faculty concern about whether some applicants are showing enough readiness in math and writing.
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 pushing for a similar review.
At the same time, the UC Student Association has opposed bringing tests back, saying it would not improve student preparedness.
The argument is not just about a score. It is about what UC should use to judge readiness: grades, coursework, test results, or some mix of all three.
What would change for students and families?
If UC restores a testing requirement, students planning to apply to UC campuses would need to decide whether to take another admissions test and whether to spend time and money on preparation.
Teachers and counselors would also need to adjust advising, especially at California high schools where UC admissions are a major focus.
For now, though, families should not expect an immediate change. UC has said the earliest any reinstated testing rule could take effect is fall 2028.
What is still unknown?
UC has not said which test, if any, it would choose. The university also has not said whether a new rule would apply to all applicants or only to some groups.
The original timeline for the Academic Senate review was said to point to a final report in fall 2027, but UC officials later accelerated the schedule.
So the answer to the main question is still not settled: UC is reviewing whether SAT or ACT scores should count again, but the university has not yet decided to bring them back.
