Citing ‘severe’ math deficits, UC faculty demand a return to SAT tests for STEM applicants

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Summary

UC faculty are demanding a return to SAT tests for STEM applicants due to 'severe' math deficits among incoming freshmen, with a report showing a thirty-fold increase in students below high school math levels since 2020.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-27/uc-math-professors-demand-return-of-sat-for-stem-admissions https://ucstudentsuccess.org/ > In November, a UC San Diego Academic Senate work group report said it documented a roughly thirty-fold increase between 2020 and 2025 in incoming first-year students whose math skills tested below high school level. The report said 70% of those students fell below middle school levels." With newly widespread access to advanced LLM's, there's now probably no adequate way for this issue to be completely addressed.
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