Will California Kill Test-Optional? Over 1,100 UC Professors Hope So

When the University of California phased out the SAT and ACT in 2020, it didn't just change its own admissions policy. It gave hundreds of other schools the political cover to indefinitely extend their pandemic test-optional pauses. UC was the largest public university system in the country, and other admissions offices watched closely. If UC could go test-blind in the name of equity, lesser-known schools could at least stay test-optional.

Six years later, that same UC system is having a very public second thought. Over 1,100 UC faculty – including seven of the nine UC mathematics department chairs and 45 additional STEM department chairs – have signed an open letter demanding the Board of Regents reinstate the SAT/ACT math requirement for STEM applicants beginning with the 2027 cycle. If the institution that legitimized the test-optional movement reverses, every school hiding behind UC's precedent loses its cover.

How California led the country into test-optional

In early 2020, the UC Academic Senate's Standardized Testing Task Force issued a 228-page empirical report. It concluded that the SAT and ACT were strong predictors of UC student performance, were not detrimental to underrepresented students, and their removal from applications for admission would obscure severe grade inflation in California high schools. The Academic Senate then voted 51-0 to preserve the tests for at least five more years.

The Board of Regents ignored the faculty. In May 2020, the Board voted 23-0 to phase out the SAT and ACT, promising to replace them with a UC-developed test that never materialized. A settlement in Smith v. Regents made the policy permanent the following year. UC became the largest test-blind university system in the country, bucking the will of  its own faculty.

That decision rippled outward. Schools that had paused testing during COVID quietly extended their pauses, citing "evolving best practices" and "studying outcomes." The implicit logic: if UC could go test-blind, less prominent schools could safely stay test-optional. By 2023, more than 1,700 colleges had some test-optional or test-blind policy.

Now the UC faculty are revolting

The data they're citing now is the same data they used in 2020. A November 2025 UC San Diego report, highlighted by the Wall Street Journal, found that incoming UCSD freshmen testing below high school level in math have increased nearly 30 times in five years – roughly 1 in 8 of the entering class. Of those, 70% test below middle school level, meaning about 1 in 12 of every UCSD cohort arrives unable to do middle-school arithmetic. At UC Berkeley, 20% to 30% of first-semester calculus students have shown severe preparation deficits on diagnostics for three consecutive years.

The faculty's diagnosis is direct. Admissions built on GPA and essays can no longer identify who's ready for STEM. Grades have inflated. AI-assisted essays have flattened the signal. The SAT and ACT were the benchmark that used to catch the gap. With that benchmark gone, instructors are reteaching middle school math to admitted students while trying to deliver college-level STEM content.

Why this matters beyond California

If the rationale that justified the test-optional movement is subverted, the rest of the system has a problem. Reversing the movement  is already underway:

• MIT reinstated requirements in 2022.

• Caltech restored its requirement in April 2024.

• Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, and Brown returned to required testing for the Class of 2029.

• Stanford returns for the Class of 2030.

• University of Miami reinstated for fall 2026.

• UT Austin, Purdue, Georgia Tech, and Georgetown never went test-optional at all.

Even at schools that stayed test-optional, the majority of admitted students still submitted scores – more than two-thirds at Northwestern. A strong score was still the competitive advantage. We've tracked this shift in Test-Optional Dies a Bit Each Day and Test-Optional to Test-Preferred. A UC reversal would surely accelerate the trend.

What this means for your testing timeline

If you're betting test-optional will save your student from preparing, the bet is getting worse every cycle. To make the very most of SAT and ACT scores in applying to college, here’s a  workable timeline:

• Freshman / early sophomore year: Build math fluency. Mastery of Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 is the biggest predictor of SAT/ACT math performance.

• Sophomore year: Take the PSAT 8/9 or a diagnostic SAT and ACT. Find the baseline and the better-fitting test. See our SAT vs. ACT guide.

• Summer before junior year through spring of junior year: 40 to 80 hours of focused prep. Plan for two test sittings, not one.

• Summer before senior year: Final retake if needed.

The student who starts in 9th or 10th grade walks into junior year with a baseline, a target, and the pathway to reach  it. The student hoping test-optional saves them is competing against the students and families who plan ahead because they have read the writing on the wall.

Test-optional was never the same as test-blind. The UC faculty just made the difference impossible to ignore.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the SAT required in 2026?

A growing list of selective schools requires it again: MIT, Caltech, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Stanford (Class of 2030), Georgetown, Purdue, Georgia Tech, and the University of Miami. Many flagship state universities never dropped the requirement.

Should my student take the SAT or ACT even if their target schools are test-optional?

Yes. At most selective test-optional schools, the majority of admitted students still submit scores. Not submitting one reads as a signal that scores weren't strong enough to help.

When should my child start SAT prep?

A sophomore-year diagnostic identifies the right test and baseline. Focused prep should begin the summer before junior year, with testing wrapped by fall of senior year.

Will the University of California actually reinstate the SAT?

The faculty letter targets the 2027 cycle. The Regents haven't acted yet. Even a partial reversal – scores required only for STEM majors – would send an unmistakable signal to the rest of higher education.

Start your student's test prep plan this summer

The students who land at competitive schools didn't wait to see what colleges would require. They started with a diagnostic, built a realistic timeline, and worked with a tutor who knew the digital SAT and the enhanced ACT inside and out. If you want your student to walk into junior year with a baseline, a target, and a real plan, the time to start is now.

Schedule a diagnostic and consultation with a Score At The Top test prep specialist.

Score At The Top has prepared students for the SAT and ACT for more than 40 years. Our SAT and ACT test prep programs are built around each student's baseline, target, and timeline – including PSAT and SAT prep and ACT prep tutoring.