LyrArc Article Gist
Hundreds of professors in UC university system in math, science and engineering protest removal of the standardized testing for college in California by Governor Newsom. After social justice movements misread what promotes and what doesnt the removal of standardized testing ACT/SAT tests by Governor Newsom is leading to a major disaster- as the number of unprepared students who need remedial help has increased 30 fold. The consequences are dire for the future of science and technology in America says the protest letter by hundreds of UC faculty-  “longer pathways through prerequisite material, reduced readiness for advanced coursework, and growing pressure to dilute quantitative rigor," for University of California system with 200,000 students — educating a huge section of the engineers in America’s universities. 

"We now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must reteach middle-school mathematics.”

“The SAT/ACT mathematics requirement is not an obstacle to equity; rather, it is a prerequisite for it. Failing to measure preparation gaps does not remove barriers; it moves them into the classroom, where they become harder to overcome.”

Other points are that stanrdized tests are even more important in the severe grade inflation in 2026, and add AI-assisted application essays.

The Washington Post says these are crusades for equity done the wrong way hurting the very students they are designed to help because the time to fix the problem is in the middle and high schools, after that it is impossible and leaves students no path forward. This experiment has failed and is a warning for other crusades for equity on "false pretenses," says The Washington Post.