University of California professor called on the school to resume the standardized entrance exam: new mathematics is only at the junior high level.

News from IT House 4 June, The Wall Street Journal reported on 1 June that a group of UCLA professors was urging the university to resume the standardized university entrance examination at a time when AI was being used extensively and the educational crisis was exacerbating. According to the professors, a number of new students have a weak foundation in subjects such as mathematics, which is almost equivalent to lower secondary education.

The professors made this request in a letter last week, but the resumption of the SAT, ACT and other entrance examinations is bound to be controversial. The long-standing criticism of such examinations can exacerbate racial inequality, as the examinations themselves are subject to fees, and the systematic preparation of courses is equally expensive. A study led by Harvard researchers found that wealthier and usually white children are 13 times more likely to achieve high marks in SATs or ACTs than children from low-income families.

Even so, the professor of mathematics and science at the University of California believes that the reality in the classroom has become unbearable. At the University of California, Berkeley, nearly one third of the students studying their first semester calculus have shown “a serious lack of preparation”.

The letter from a professor at the University of California states: “The readiness gap that we now see is so great that teachers have to teach junior high school mathematics while teaching what is needed in science, engineering, economics and other professions that are highly reliant on quantitative abilities. The University of California has limited resources and limited numbers of students who can help.”

After the new coronary epidemic spread in the United States in 2020, many higher education institutions, including the University of California, began not to enforce SAT and ACT performance. FairTest's Executive Director, Harry Feder, told the Wall Street Journal that more than 90 per cent of universities currently no longer required applicants to submit SAT or ACT results.

According to information from the IT House, some of the top universities have started a recall policy. MIT resumed SAT requirements in 2022, Harvard and Dartmouth in 2024, and Yale followed up last month. It was reported that the University of California remained on the same path and encouraged applicants to strengthen their studies, write applications and participate in extracurricular activities.

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