Standardize to Vitalize
By Ayush Deshpande Nov. 4, 2026
Nearly 12% of incoming freshmen at the University of California (UC) San Diego arrived with math skills below the high school level, according to a report by the campus’s own faculty. UC San Diego ranks sixth among public universities in the nation, according to “U.S. News & World Report.” Of those students, nearly a quarter received perfect grades in high school. The struggles in math seen at the institution and most of the UC’s stem directly from this decision not to consider standardized testing. The UCs should require the SAT or ACT again as it can demonstrate how prepared a student is for college.
In 2020, the UC Board of Regents voted unanimously to end the consideration of standardized test scores in admissions to the Universities. The decision was driven by data showing that SAT scores directly correlated with race and income. According to the College Board, students from families making under approximately $60,000 a year have an average SAT score of just 900, while those whose families make above $125,000 score an average of 1160. Because of this correlation, the test—along with another major standardized test, the ACT—was banned from consideration for being inequitable.
“Being able to afford private tutoring gives students a significant advantage because it helps them prepare better for the test. Removing the SAT made admissions fairer for students who cannot afford that preparation,” Senior Jayden Li said.
Many other competitive colleges decided to go either test-optional or test blind. Both private schools such as Harvard, Columbia and Georgetown, as well as public school systems such as those of Florida, Georgia and Tennessee all went test-optional during the pandemic as testing centers closed. However, since becoming test-optional, these, along with many other schools, returned to a test-required policy. Many schools, such as those in the Ivy League and MIT, Stanford and Caltech, have brought back the SAT, stating that it was integral to determining how prepared a student is for college classes.
The UC is currently dealing with the effects of staying test-blind. At UC San Diego, the percentage of students in remedial math classes has increased from 0.5% in fall of 2020 to 11.8% in fall of 2025, a nearly 24-fold increase. An additional 175 were on the wait list for Math 2, an elementary and middle school-level math class. In fact the math department created another class—Math 3B—to teach lower-level high school math and alleviate the overcrowding of Math 2. This places an unfair burden on faculty, who are left reteaching elementary and middle school math is not their job. Plus, these classes do not even give students credit.
Not everyone sees standardized testing as the solution. Richard Barrera, the leading candidate for State Superintendent in the 2026 Midterms, has continually opposed using the SAT in admissions, arguing GPA, essays and extracurriculars are a fuller and fairer measure of a student.
The UC Student Association—representing 237,000 undergraduates—agrees with Barrera, however it is worth noting that the SAT has proven to be one of the strongest predictors of college GPA when paired with high school GPA. A partial return of the SAT to a test-optional policy, where students are allowed, but not required, to submit test scores would not solve the problem, as students who scored low could simply omit their scores, defeating the purpose of the test to measure students' preparedness.
“The SAT is a good test of your general academic ability and it would be beneficial for the UCs to bring scores into consideration for college applications, especially because widespread grade inflation makes fair comparisons difficult,” Freshman Mario Lin said.
The strong pushback from educators has prompted the California Academic Senate to reconsider reinstating the SAT for admissions. They are expected to deliver a report by Feb. 12, 2027, with a final policy by the end of the 2026-27 academic school year. California students are not waiting for the Senate’s decision; participation in the SAT grew nearly 13% as students took the test to stay competitive at colleges that still accept the SAT scores.
Ultimately, reinstating the SAT in admissions would provide a useful metric to help colleges more accurately gauge and compare how ready individual students are, alleviating some of the struggles currently being faced on campus.
About the Contributors
Ayush Deshpande
Feature US and Science & Tech Editor
Ayush Deshpande a senior at Leland High School and the Feature US and Science and Tech page editor. In his free time he likes to watch F1, play strategy video games, and hang out with friends.
Mira Reddy
Artist
Mira Reddy is a junior at Leland High School and an artist for The Charger Account. She loves swimming, watching romcoms and spending time with friends in her free time.
Comments