Judge Bans UC System From Use Of ACT And SAT Scores In Admissions

CALIFORNIA — The University of California system will no longer be able to use ACT and SAT tests to determine admissions, a superior court judge ruled Tuesday, removing a significant barrier for disabled students.

While the university system previously waived the standardized testing requirements and preserved them as "optional" for some campuses, a judge sided with disabled students Tuesday to do away with them entirely.

The lawsuit, comprised of five student plaintiffs from the system, argued that disabled students have not been able to access testing locations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brad Seligman, Alameda County Superior Court Judge, said the optional testing offered a "second look" to more privileged students who have access to them; therefore, the tests should be eliminated, CNN reported.

The UC system said in a statement Tuesday that it "respectfully disagreed" with the Tuesday ruling and will determine whether further legal acton is necessary, according to multiple reports.

The SAT and ACT requirements were voted out in May by the UC system's Board of Regents, after findings from a two-year research effort proved that the tests no longer aligned with the standards for students attending the nine campuses.

However, six of the undergraduate campuses — Davis, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego and Santa Barbara — gave students an option to submit test scores anyway, ultimately giving some an obvious leg up.

The system also said that the tests would later be eliminated altogether if a new test had not emerged for the 2025 academic year. Tuesday's ruling, jumped ahead on this.

The validity of using standardize testing to determine admissions has long been challenged and questioned as several studies found that the admission tool disproportionately affected nonwhite students and those of differing socioeconomic backgrounds.

A 2015 analysis by Inside Higher Ed found that SAT scores showed higher scores from white and Asian students than their Black and Latino peers. And, "as has been the case for years," students from wealthier families tend to score higher those from lower income families

The plaintiffs in Kawika Smith v. Regents of the University of California are five individual students apart of six organizations: College Access Plan, Little Manila Rising, Dolores Huerta Foundation, College Seekers, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and Community Coalition.