SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 19 (Our California Times) — The University of California is once again weighing whether SAT or ACT scores should be part of undergraduate admissions. For students and families, the practical effect is simple for now: nothing changes immediately, but UC says any reinstated testing rule would not take effect before the fall 2028 application cycle.
That means current and future high school students may need to watch UC’s process closely as they plan coursework, test prep and college applications.
What is UC considering?
UC is reviewing whether to bring back a testing requirement after the Regents voted unanimously in 2020 to remove SAT and ACT scores from admissions. The university is now looking at whether it should require one of several possible assessments again, including the SAT, ACT or California’s Smarter Balanced test.
The review is being handled through UC’s shared-governance system, which means faculty members study the issue first and make a recommendation before the UC Board of Regents takes any final vote.
Why is this happening now?
The current debate grew after faculty members pushed UC to revisit testing. UC officials say the review is part of a broader look at admissions standards and student preparation.
The UC Student Association has opposed bringing back standardized testing. In a letter, the group said restoring test requirements would not improve student preparedness.
Supporters of a return say standardized tests could give UC another data point in admissions. Janet Napolitano, the former UC president who oversaw the original phase-out, has said a test score should not be the only factor in access to UC, but a renewed review could decide that it should be one factor.
How would UC make the decision?
Two faculty-led work groups are now involved. One is studying whether UC should require the SAT, ACT or Smarter Balanced. The other is reviewing high school course requirements for UC admission.
Ahmet Palazoglu, chair of the UC Academic Senate, said in a UC Office of the President statement that the senate is not dropping its commitment to a full review of standardized testing in admissions.
Maria Anguiano, the appointed chair of the UC Board of Regents, said at the July regents meeting that the Academic Senate should deliver a recommendation no later than the end of the current academic year, around June 2027.
Even then, the Regents would still need to approve any change.
When could any change reach students?
UC has said the earliest possible start date would be the fall 2028 application cycle.
That timing matters for students now in high school. If UC restores a testing requirement, students would need enough notice to decide whether to register for the SAT, ACT or another approved test, and teachers and counselors would need to plan advising around the new rule.
What is the background?
UC eliminated its SAT and ACT requirement in a unanimous 2020 vote. Later, litigation further limited how test scores could be used, with UC agreeing not to consider SAT or ACT results in admissions through spring 2025.
UC also had once planned to build a new UC-specific test as part of its move away from the SAT and ACT, but that test was never developed.
The system’s current review does not yet answer the biggest questions. UC has not said which test, if any, it would choose, and it has not said whether any new rule would apply to all applicants or only some groups.
For now, the debate is less about a final decision than about the path to one. Faculty review is underway, Regents approval would still be needed, and the earliest any change would reach applicants is still more than a year away.
