SAT, ACT scores no longer considered in University of California

• The University of California will no longer consider SAT and ACT scores when looking at admission and scholarship applications.
• The decision is part of a settlement of a student lawsuit that was announced Friday.
• The standardized tests have been criticized as disadvantageous to minority and low-income students.

SAT and ACT scores that are submitted with admission and scholarship applications will no longer be considered by the University of California. The decision is part of a settlement of a student lawsuit that was announced on Friday.

Last fall, a judge issued an injunction that barred the university from considering the scores for admission even when voluntarily submitted. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the 10-campus system, which has more than 280,000 students statewide, decided not to appeal the decision.

The standardized tests have long been criticized as disadvantageous for minority and low-income students. According to critics, the test questions often contain inherent bias that more privileged children are better equipped to answer. Others added that there are expensive prep courses that help wealthier students boost scores, but which many students can’t afford.

These arguments were made in a 2019 lawsuit filed against the UC system on behalf of some high school students and nonprofit groups.

Amanda Savage, an attorney representing the students, said that the settlement, reached earlier this month, “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.”

Last year, the UC Board of Regents voted to drop the SAT and ACT tests as admission requirements through 2024. The requirement will also be eliminated for California residents after that. The test scores were no longer submitted by incoming students this fall. Still, applicants for fall 2021 and 2022 could voluntarily submit the scores, according to the school regents.

The school said that the new settlement will “provide certainty for students and their families, counselors, and high schools.”

SAT and ACT scores will no longer be considered when looking at student admissions between fall 2021 and spring 2025. When submitted voluntarily, however, the scores can be used to consider course placement after admission.

Last month, Massachusetts-based nonprofit group FairTest announced that more than 1,400 accredited colleges and universities that grant bachelor’s degrees will no longer require test scores for admission applications for fall 2022. The group, which is generally opposed to standardized testing, pointed out that the number is more than 60 percent of the undergraduate institutions in the United States.

Source: NBC News