More than 600 University of California faculty members, led by mathematicians at UC Berkeley, call for reinstating standardized testing for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics applicants. They say six years of test-free admissions has not reliably assessed readiness and that professors often must reteach middle-school mathematics to incoming students. Faculty members report that without standardized testing they cannot determine whether students can handle college-level math. An open letter asks for SAT or ACT exams to be required beginning in fall 2027 and for STEM faculty to have formal oversight of readiness standards in their majors. They cite diagnostic results showing at least 20% of Berkeley first-semester calculus students with deficits and warn that basic mathematical fluency is essential for success in university-level STEM.
"More than 600 University of California faculty members, led by mathematicians at UC Berkeley, are calling on the system to reinstate standardized testing requirements for science, technology, engineering and mathematics applicants, saying that six years of test-free admissions has not reliably assessed readiness and professors are often teaching middle school math to incoming students."
"Without standardized testing in admissions, professors said they don't know whether incoming students can handle college-level math. The open letter, addressed to top UC leaders, asks for SAT or ACT exams to be required beginning in fall 2027 and for STEM faculty to be given formal oversight of readiness standards in their majors."
""We now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must reteach middle-school mathematics while simultaneously teaching the material students need for sciences, engineering, economics, and other quantitatively demanding fields," they warned."
""Basic mathematical fluency is analogous to literacy; without it, success in university-level STEM becomes structurally unattainable for students," faculty wrote. Over three years - from fall 2021 to fall 2023 - the letter said, at least 20% of Berkeley first-semester calculus students who took a diagnostic exam showed deficits."
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