UCs consider dropping ACT and SAT exams

For 50 years, the University of California has required aspiring freshmen to take the SAT or ACT exams to get in.

Getting in has become more difficult every year. As of 2018, UC schools accepted about six in 10 of their applicants. That’s down from the near eight in 10 in 2009.

Research has increasingly shown that performance on the SATs and ACTs may not be the best evaluators for admissions. The tests are strongly linked to a student’s socio-economic background, which disadvantages lower income students.

Now a special faculty task force within the UC system says it's time to end the practice of evaluating based on ACT and/or SAT performance. They say doing so will diversify the student body, with test scores not indicative of student success anyway.