Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 23:22     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How will the SAT change the amount of pages students can read?


The purpose of SAT is not to do what you said. It is to increase the likelihood that students who can read well are admitted to UCs. At a poorly resourced high school in California, two 4.0 students with the same ECs can have fairly different math/reading ability that isn't reflected in their GPA due to grade inflation. By being test blind, schools have no way to tell their ability apart, potentially leading to the weaker 4.0 student getting admitted over the stronger one. This weaker student is the source of UC professors' complaint. By removing test blind, the schools can now better assess their math/reading ability and make a more informed decision. At the end of the day, the poorly resourced high school still has one student admitted. It is not losing its spot to an affluent high school. It just sends the stronger student to the UCs.


The entire purpose of the SAT was to find the bright kids who didn't have the opportunity to go to Andover, Choate, St. Albans and so on - the usual lame students that glided through Harvard and Yale with gentleman Cs. There really was an attempt in the 80s and 90s to be pretty merit focused. And the SAT was a means to that end.

Obviously, things are different today. Colleges like Berkeley and other universities are going through contortions to dismiss tests as racist. But again. the entire purpose of standardized tests was to find smart kids of every background and get them into the top universities.
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 23:10     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How will the SAT change the amount of pages students can read?


The purpose of SAT is not to do what you said. It is to increase the likelihood that students who can read well are admitted to UCs. At a poorly resourced high school in California, two 4.0 students with the same ECs can have fairly different math/reading ability that isn't reflected in their GPA due to grade inflation. By being test blind, schools have no way to tell their ability apart, potentially leading to the weaker 4.0 student getting admitted over the stronger one. This weaker student is the source of UC professors' complaint. By removing test blind, the schools can now better assess their math/reading ability and make a more informed decision. At the end of the day, the poorly resourced high school still has one student admitted. It is not losing its spot to an affluent high school. It just sends the stronger student to the UCs.


Or they can get rid of the grade inflation. It’s ridiculous to have 20% of the class getting straight As. If they can’t change that, test required!
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 22:45     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Anonymous wrote:How will the SAT change the amount of pages students can read?


The purpose of SAT is not to do what you said. It is to increase the likelihood that students who can read well are admitted to UCs. At a poorly resourced high school in California, two 4.0 students with the same ECs can have fairly different math/reading ability that isn't reflected in their GPA due to grade inflation. By being test blind, schools have no way to tell their ability apart, potentially leading to the weaker 4.0 student getting admitted over the stronger one. This weaker student is the source of UC professors' complaint. By removing test blind, the schools can now better assess their math/reading ability and make a more informed decision. At the end of the day, the poorly resourced high school still has one student admitted. It is not losing its spot to an affluent high school. It just sends the stronger student to the UCs.
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 22:27     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Anonymous wrote:My DS had a 790 on the math SAT and 750 RW SAT and didn't get in. Only UC he got into was UC Santa Cruz.

Meanwhile he got into Williams, Tufts, Carleton, Wesleyan, WashU and more.



Honestly, if money is not an issue, why would anyone go to UC instead of what you listed. The only reason to go there is if it’s way cheaper (low income or live at home). Large classes, often online, and normal kids squeezed between strivers and those who are there for holistic reasons.
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 22:08     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Anonymous wrote:My DS had a 790 on the math SAT and 750 RW SAT and didn't get in. Only UC he got into was UC Santa Cruz.

Meanwhile he got into Williams, Tufts, Carleton, Wesleyan, WashU and more.



Similar story here. It’s all about the PiQs and a high GPA (low rigor is fine).
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 22:03     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Sorry you and/or child have slow processing speed, but timed conditions do matter for tasks involving a deadline or the patience of other people.

There are some tasks where digesting a certain amount of material in time doesn’t matter, I imagine. But perhaps applicants who cannot manage timed conditions (after applicable accommodations) should be required to demonstrate their compensatory abilities in another objective way?
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 21:43     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How will the SAT change the amount of pages students can read?


Students who perform well on a timed standardized test will have demonstrated that they can read and digest written material under timed conditions. Therefore, the students are likely to be more capable of completing longer assigned readings for homework.

How will the sat change the amount of pages students can read? It shows they can read faster and comprehend base texts quicker than peers (though many students get decent scores without reading the texts), but it doesn’t show that they can sustain a novels worth of reading

It's a measuring stick. Without it, nothing shows that they can or can't sustain a novel's worth of reading.

It’s a shit measuring stick. It’s like trying to evaluate if someone should be an engineer by asking them their times tables quickly.
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 21:41     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Anonymous wrote:They won't do it. This is a state that has its entire political class united around the idea that SATs and all forms of achievement tests are fundamentally born out of, and inculcated with, racist, white supremacist ideologies.

Which is why they have institutions like Stanford and Caltech and host one of the most competitive industries in America
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 21:31     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
They won't do it. This is a state that has its entire political class united around the idea that SATs and all forms of achievement tests are fundamentally born out of, and inculcated with, racist, white supremacist ideologies.
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 21:17     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How will the SAT change the amount of pages students can read?


Students who perform well on a timed standardized test will have demonstrated that they can read and digest written material under timed conditions. Therefore, the students are likely to be more capable of completing longer assigned readings for homework.

How will the sat change the amount of pages students can read? It shows they can read faster and comprehend base texts quicker than peers (though many students get decent scores without reading the texts), but it doesn’t show that they can sustain a novels worth of reading

It's a measuring stick. Without it, nothing shows that they can or can't sustain a novel's worth of reading.
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 21:05     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How will the SAT change the amount of pages students can read?


Students who perform well on a timed standardized test will have demonstrated that they can read and digest written material under timed conditions. Therefore, the students are likely to be more capable of completing longer assigned readings for homework.

How will the sat change the amount of pages students can read? It shows they can read faster and comprehend base texts quicker than peers (though many students get decent scores without reading the texts), but it doesn’t show that they can sustain a novels worth of reading
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 21:02     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
Anonymous wrote:How will the SAT change the amount of pages students can read?


Students who perform well on a timed standardized test will have demonstrated that they can read and digest written material under timed conditions. Therefore, the students are likely to be more capable of completing longer assigned readings for homework.
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 20:00     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
My DS had a 790 on the math SAT and 750 RW SAT and didn't get in. Only UC he got into was UC Santa Cruz.

Meanwhile he got into Williams, Tufts, Carleton, Wesleyan, WashU and more.

Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 18:35     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
How will the SAT change the amount of pages students can read?
Anonymous
Post 06/11/2026 17:27     Subject: UCs are considering reinstating SAT and ACT tests for admission
This would reverse their "test blind" process. It would impact high school Class of 2028 as it won't be in time for the Class of 2027, which will still be test blind. My guess is they'll move to test optional at least.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/uc-considers-restoring-sat-act-faculty-math-22301311.php?utm_content=cta&sid=675072987f18f5bc870a0c61&ss=A&st_rid=7d0f69b0-9b79-442d-9021-57397d43c1f5&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=course&utm_campaign=sfcn%20%7C%20college%20admissions%20alerts

Since 2020, faculty has reported that math abilities for incoming students and reading ability has plummeted. At Cal, history/humanity profs said they had to cut down on assigned reading since it was too hard for many students to keep up with.