Over 500 professors across California’s University of California (UC) system are calling on the state to restore standardized testing, arguing in an open letter that declining math scores and proficiency have reached a point where universities can no longer reasonably expect consistent or even bare minimum levels of math readiness from incoming students.
Not only is this concerning for California’s prestigious university system, but American universities are widely recognized for their prowess in STEM, even amid ongoing concern about ideological imbalance in higher education. This is especially true of the UC system, which leads the nation in STEM research and utility patents.
In other words, declining math levels and the absence of standardized testing could leave the UC system producing less prepared graduates, raising concerns for the United States’ future technological workforce.
University of California STEM professors want standardized tests back due to severe math deficiencies among students:
— Neetu Arnold (@neetu_arnold) May 26, 2026
“We now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must reteach middle school mathematics”
“The current admissions metric, based primarily on GPA &… pic.twitter.com/naXkrd5M96
“Over the past five years, we have seen a widening divergence in mathematical preparation levels within the same classroom. This trend indicates that current admissions practices do not provide a sufficiently reliable check on mathematical readiness for STEM majors,” the open letter states.
The professors are calling for the reinstatement of SAT/ACT requirements, the use of those scores to evaluate academic readiness, and greater faculty oversight of the readiness standards that affect STEM programs.
They added that “The SAT/ACT mathematics requirement is not an obstacle to equity,” but “a prerequisite for it.” As they argued, “Failing to measure preparation gaps does not remove barriers; it moves them into the classroom, where they become harder to overcome.”
In other words, California’s experiments in “equity” are being increasingly proven ineffective, with concerns now coming not only from conservative voices but also from parts of higher education.
This comes just months after San Francisco was forced to reinstate 8th-grade math requirements after nearly two-thirds of students failed to meet proficiency standards. It also comes amid a broader educational decline across the country, driven by a range of factors including “equity”-focused policy approaches, ongoing disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, and weakening standards in public education. Another contributing factor cited in these debates is the increase in funding flowing into education without corresponding improvements in outcomes.
President Trump has also directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to carry out her responsibilities with the expectation that the federal Department of Education will be shut down by the end of his second term. This would not solve the underlying educational challenges, but would reduce federal bureaucracy and prevent continued spending on a department they view as ineffective despite rising expenditures.
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