UC's Test-Blind Admissions Policy Has Failed and Must Be Reversed
Source: Helen Raleigh. "Race Grifters Boost Students Who Can’t Do Middle School Math." June 4, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that UC's decision to stop requiring SAT/ACT scores for admissions has backfired badly. Students are now arriving at university unable to do basic math, and even the faculty who opposed this policy from the start are demanding it be reversed.
Conclusion
The University of California should immediately reinstate standardized testing requirements for STEM admissions because the test-blind policy has demonstrably failed students and undermines academic standards
Premises
- Over 1,200 UC faculty members have signed a letter urging reinstatement of SAT/ACT math testing requirements for STEM majors
- Between 2020 and 2025, UC saw a nearly thirtyfold surge in incoming students with math skills below high-school level, with 70% having below middle-school math skills
- UC's own 2020 faculty task force found that SAT/ACT scores were better predictors of college success than high school GPAs alone, especially for non-white and low-income students
- Elite institutions like MIT, Yale, Harvard, and Dartmouth have reinstated standardized testing requirements after finding they improve prediction of academic success
- The test-blind policy was implemented against faculty recommendations and has forced instructors to reteach middle school material in university courses
- The policy disproportionately harms disadvantaged students it was meant to help, as wealthy families can afford private tutoring while poor students fall further behind
Assumptions
- Standardized tests are valid measures of academic preparedness for STEM fields
- Academic merit should be the primary criterion for university admissions
- The current crisis in student preparedness is primarily caused by the test-blind policy rather than other factors
- Faculty expertise should guide admissions policy over ideological considerations
- Objective measures are more equitable than subjective evaluations