The University of California decided it will not be considering ACT or SAT test scores as part of its admissions process for the next few years.
The university system, which is responsible for nine of the state’s most elite colleges, made the decision as the result of a settlement announced on Friday, according to multiple news outlets.
College Board, the corporation behind the SAT and Advanced Placement examinations, said “real inequities exist in American education” but maintained that “the SAT itself is not a racist instrument” because “every question is rigorously reviewed for evidence of bias and any question that could favor one group over another is discarded.”
“The College Board and the SAT were founded to increase access to college and that remains our core mission,” the College Board told the Washington Examiner in an email on Saturday. “The College Board supports colleges introducing more flexibility and choice into the admissions process through test-optional policies.”
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Advocates have long argued that the standardized tests put some students, particularly those at a lower socioeconomic level, at a disadvantage in admissions. The university system created a test-optional policy that was adopted by some of the campuses, but students sued, arguing that having the test available at all would mean those who opted not to take the test would be at a disadvantage.
Judge Brad Seligman of the Alameda County Superior Court issued an injunction in September that barred the university system from continuing to consider the scores, and a settlement was reached earlier this month, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. An attorney representing the students told the outlet it “ensures that the university will not revert to its planned use of the SAT and ACT — which its own regents have admitted are racist metrics.”
College Board has taken steps toward reforming the exams, saying the existing structure placed an undue burden on students who are minorities or come from low-income homes. In January, the company eliminated the essay portion of the SAT, along with its supplementary subject tests.
“The expanded reach of AP and its widespread availability for low-income students and students of color means the Subject Tests are no longer necessary for students to show what they know,” College Board wrote in a press release announcing the decision.
Last summer, College Board dropped plans to implement an “adversity score” that would have evaluated students’ personal hardships according to 15 criteria, including crime rates, high school quality, and neighborhood poverty. Race would not have been one of the factors considered.
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The UC school system hopes to create a new test by which to evaluate applicants for admissions to the fall 2025 semester, according to ABC 7.
The Washington Examiner reached out to ACT and the UC system for comment but did not immediately hear back.
