More than 1,100 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty members across the University of California (UC) system have signed a petition urging university leaders to restore standardized testing requirements for STEM applicants, arguing that increasing numbers of students are arriving on campus without the mathematical preparation needed for university-level coursework.
The petition, accompanied by an open letter addressed to UC leaders, calls for applicants to STEM majors to submit SAT or ACT mathematics scores beginning with the 2027 admissions cycle. Faculty members also want greater involvement of STEM departments in establishing admissions standards and evaluating academic readiness.
Among the signatories are prominent scholars, including Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Jennifer Doudna and Fields Medal-winning mathematician Richard Borcherds, both faculty members at the University of California, Berkeley.
Faculty point to growing preparation gaps
The petition reflects mounting concerns among instructors who say they are increasingly required to review fundamental mathematics concepts before teaching college-level material.
According to the faculty letter, the number of incoming students whose mathematics placement exam results indicate they have not achieved high-school-level proficiency increased nearly thirtyfold between 2020 and 2025. The trend was documented by a 2025 admissions workgroup report at the University of California San Diego.
Faculty members noted that these students had completed mathematics coursework beyond the minimum requirements established by the University of California Office of the President and often earned strong grades in high school. Nevertheless, they struggled to demonstrate the mathematical skills expected of incoming university students.
The report found that this group accounted for approximately one-eighth of the 2025 entering cohort. More than 70 percent of those students also failed to meet middle-school mathematics standards, representing roughly one in twelve incoming freshmen.
Faculty members argue that these findings reveal a significant mismatch between students' academic records and their actual readiness for STEM study.
The petition also cites diagnostic testing conducted among first-year calculus students at UC Berkeley. Results showed a widening divide between highly prepared students and those with substantial preparation deficits. In some cases, students identified as severely underprepared experienced much lower success rates in introductory mathematics courses.
"Basic mathematical fluency is analogous to literacy," the faculty letter states. "Without it, success in university-level STEM becomes structurally unattainable for students."
Questions over the reliability of grades
A central argument in the petition is that high school grades alone are no longer providing a reliable measure of readiness for demanding STEM programs.
According to the faculty analysis, students who required preparatory mathematics support often had nearly identical high school mathematics grades to students who entered university fully prepared. In many cases, the difference in average mathematics grades was less than one-tenth of a grade point.
The petition further notes that the correlation between high school mathematics grades and university placement results was only about 0.25 on a scale from 0 to 1, suggesting that transcripts alone may not accurately identify students who are ready for college-level STEM coursework.
Faculty members argue that grade inflation, variations in academic standards among schools, and the growing use of artificial intelligence-assisted application materials have made admissions decisions increasingly difficult.
As a result, they contend that an external standardized assessment provides a valuable benchmark that can complement other admissions criteria.
Equity debate remains central
The debate over standardized testing has long been one of the most contentious issues in American higher education.
The University of California system became fully test-blind in 2020 after a combination of pandemic-related disruptions, legal challenges, and internal policy debates. A lawsuit brought by students and advocacy groups argued that SAT and ACT requirements disadvantaged low-income students, students with disabilities, and students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Although the legal settlement that helped shape the policy has since expired, UC campuses continue to exclude standardized test scores from admissions decisions.
Supporters of the current policy argue that standardized tests often reflect disparities in educational opportunity and access to test preparation resources. Critics of testing requirements also point to research suggesting that high school academic performance remains a strong predictor of student success.
However, the faculty petition argues that eliminating standardized testing may have created unintended consequences.
The letter states that failing to measure preparation gaps does not remove barriers to student success but instead shifts those challenges into university classrooms, where they become more difficult and costly to address.
Faculty members further argue that standardized tests can help identify talented students from under-resourced schools whose abilities may not be fully reflected in grades, extracurricular activities, or other application components.
National trend toward reinstating testing
The University of California's debate comes as several leading universities have reversed pandemic-era test-optional policies.
Stanford University reinstated SAT and ACT requirements beginning with the fall 2025 application cycle for students seeking admission in fall 2026, while the California Institute of Technology restored testing requirements in the fall 2024 application cycle for students entering in fall 2025. Other highly selective institutions, including Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, and Yale University, have also returned to requiring standardized test scores for applicants in recent admissions cycles, reversing pandemic-era test-optional policies.
Supporters of testing requirements argue that universities are increasingly concluding that standardized assessments provide useful information about student preparedness that cannot be fully replaced by grades and essays alone.
UC leaders reviewing admissions policies
University leaders have acknowledged concerns about student readiness but have not endorsed the faculty proposal.
Ahmet Palazoglu, chair of the UC Academic Senate, has confirmed that the system's Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools is examining issues related to college readiness and admissions policies. The board is expected to develop recommendations and work with California's K-12 education system to address preparedness challenges.
UC officials have emphasized that mathematics readiness is a national concern, particularly following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The university system has expanded academic support programs and discipline-specific mathematics pathways to help students succeed.
Any change to UC admissions policy would require review by the Academic Senate and approval through the university's governance process.
A broader challenge for higher education
The debate highlights a growing challenge facing universities worldwide: balancing access and equity with academic preparedness.
For supporters of reinstating testing, the issue is not about limiting opportunity but ensuring that students admitted to highly demanding STEM programs have the foundation needed to thrive.
Opponents remain concerned that standardized tests may recreate barriers for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and reduce access to elite institutions.
As the University of California considers its next steps, the outcome could influence admissions debates far beyond California. Given the system's size, prestige, and historical role in shaping higher education policy, any decision regarding standardized testing is likely to attract attention from universities across the United States and internationally.
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