SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 19 (Our California Times) — The University of California is again weighing whether SAT or ACT scores should count in undergraduate admissions, a move that could change how California students prepare for college and how UC campuses review applications.
For families, the biggest practical issue is timing: UC says any restored testing rule would not begin before the fall 2028 application cycle. That means the debate matters now for students in California high schools, but it would not change admissions decisions next year.
What changed?
UC Regents voted unanimously in 2020 to remove SAT and ACT requirements from admissions. Since then, UC admissions have moved without a standard testing rule, and a later legal settlement kept the university from considering those scores in admissions through spring 2025.
Now the system is revisiting the question through UC’s shared-governance process. That means faculty review comes first, and the Board of Regents would have the final say.
Who is reviewing the policy?
Two faculty-led work groups are handling the current review.
One is looking at whether UC should require SAT, ACT or California’s Smarter Balanced test. The other is reviewing high school course requirements, known in UC admissions as the A-G pattern, which sets the classes students need to take to qualify for the university.
Ahmet Palazoglu, chair of the UC Academic Senate, said the faculty review is still active. In a UC Office of the President statement, he wrote, “The Academic Senate is not rescinding its commitment to a comprehensive review of standardized testing in admissions.”
UC Board of Regents Chair Maria Anguiano told the board at its July meeting that the Academic Senate should deliver a recommendation by the end of the current academic year, around June 2027.
Why is the debate back?
The renewed discussion has been pushed by faculty pressure. One open letter signed by more than 1,400 STEM faculty urged UC to reconsider standardized testing. Another set of open letters gathered more than 3,000 faculty signatures.
Supporters of a return say scores can give UC another way to judge readiness in math and writing, especially for students whose transcripts may not tell the whole story.
Opponents, including the UC Student Association, say restoring testing would not improve student preparedness and could add another barrier for applicants who already face heavy competition.
That disagreement is at the center of the current fight: whether test scores add useful information, or whether they mostly reflect access to test prep and other resources.
What would a return mean for students and schools?
If UC brings back a test requirement, the change would affect students across California, from large urban school districts to small rural high schools.
High school counselors and teachers would likely have to adjust advice, timelines and test-prep planning. Students and families would also need to decide whether to spend time and money on SAT or ACT preparation again, after years of test-optional admissions at UC.
The impact would be especially important for students still early in high school, because UC says the earliest possible start date is the fall 2028 application cycle. For current applicants, nothing changes immediately.
What is still unknown?
UC has not said which test, if any, it would ultimately choose. The review could lead to the SAT, the ACT, the Smarter Balanced test, or some other option — or it could leave admissions testing out entirely.
It also is not clear whether any restored rule would apply to all applicants or only some groups.
For now, the key point is that no change has been approved yet. The Academic Senate is still reviewing the issue, and the Regents would need to vote before any new requirement could take effect.
