University of California ditches SAT requirements after students sue
The University of California has settled a lawsuit with a coalition group who sued them for using standardized testing in their admissions process.
The University of California, in the settlement, agreed to stop using the ACT or SAT in admission decisions.
The University of California will no longer consider SAT and ACT scores during the school’s admissions process after a lawsuit with the student body was settled on Friday, May 14.
A coalition of advocacy groups, students, and school districts filed the lawsuit, claiming that the system used for the standardized tests puts them at a disadvantage.
Amanda Mangaser Savage, a lawyer that is representing the students, said in a statement to The New York Times that the settlement is historic.
“Today’s settlement ensures that the university will not revert to its planned use of the SAT and ACT — which its own regents have admitted are racist metrics,” Savage said.
The settlement is the result of a 2019 lawsuit that was brought by a coalition of students, advocacy groups, and the Compton Unified School District. The coalition argued that the entrance tests are biased against certain groups, such as those who are low-income, Black and Hispanic.
The coalition claimed that the University of California is illegally discriminating against them by using the test scores in the admission process.
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According to the settlement, no schools within the University of California system will be able to consider the ACT or SAT scores of those who are applying. If students submit their scores, they will not be viewed by those who look over the admissions applications.
Like many universities nationwide, the University of California already made the SAT and the ACT optional due to the pandemic. However, when the coalition sued in court, their lawyers argued that even voluntary submission of scores would be harmful because students with disabilities were largely unable to take the tests with necessary accommodations during the coronavirus pandemic and were denied the opportunity to submit their scores.
The settlement states that if the university wants to use a new entrance exam in the future, it “will consider access for all students with disabilities in the design and implementation of any such exam.” It also says that the university system will pay more than $1.2 million dollars to the students’ lawyers.
The Bruin Republicans at UCLA, a student organization, said in a emailed statement to Campus Reform that they disagree with the decision.
“The Bruin Republicans unequivocally denounce the UC cowardly caving to the woke mob’s predations. The settlement to not consider SAT and ACT scores for Fall 2022 admits is an indication of how the entire institution is now sacrificing its academic excellence in favour of appeasing a small vocal minority, this move will inevitably tarnish the UC system’s reputation of being one of the leading public academic institutions in the United States.”
Universities nationwide have either made the SAT optional or have completely removed it from the admissions process, including Ivy League schools like Yale University and Brown University. According to FairTest, a group that has pushed to end testing requirements, more than half of the country’s four-year colleges and universities have dismissed the ACT or SAT requirement for fall 2021 admission.
Campus Reform reached out to the University of California for comment but has not received a response.
