A UC Berkeley math professor says many freshmen cannot do middle school math, and she blames the test-blind admissions policy.
Story Highlights
- Berkeley faculty urge the University of California to restore math test scores for STEM applicants.
- Diagnostic data show clusters of students either ready for calculus or far behind, with few in the middle.
- UC San Diego reports a steep drop in math readiness since 2020, including students below middle school level.
- Over 1,000 professors support bringing back standardized tests as one readiness check, not the only factor.
Berkeley Professor Flags Widespread Math Gaps Under Test-Blind Policy
UC Berkeley mathematics professor Zvezdelina Stankova and four colleagues led an open letter urging the University of California to consider SAT or ACT math scores again for science and engineering applicants. Berkeley’s write-up of their effort says placement diagnostics from 2021 to 2023 showed a U-shaped curve in calculus readiness. Students often arrived either solid in basics or lacking them across the board, with few in the middle band needed for success.
The faculty say this mismatch forces college instructors to re-teach skills students should have learned by eighth grade. The concern is not about ranking students by a single number. The group argues that a verified math benchmark can help flag real gaps before students land in courses they are not ready to pass. Their call targets STEM fields first, where algebra and functions are the foundation for calculus and beyond.
Systemwide Evidence Shows Readiness Falling, Especially in Math
Independent data from the University of California, San Diego back up the warning. A Senate-Administration working group there reported a sharp decline in incoming students’ preparation over five years, with math skills dropping the most. The campus found more freshmen scoring at or below middle school level on its placement exam and more struggling to place into entry math courses needed for their majors.
Media and campus summaries put a stark point on it. Reports noted that as many as one in eight first-year students did not meet middle school math standards, even while many arrived with strong grade point averages. That split suggests transcripts and course titles often mask real skill gaps. The UC San Diego report prompted local debate on admissions signals and on how to place students so they can succeed in required math sequences.
Faculty Seek Balanced Use of Tests as One Clear Readiness Signal
Stankova explained that more than 1,000 University of California professors signed the open letter to the Board of Regents. She stated that standardized exams should not be the sole gatekeeper. Instead, scores should serve as one piece of evidence to judge if applicants are ready for quantitative work. The aim is to avoid setting students up for failure in calculus and to reduce emergency remediation in core classes.
The University of California’s own task force has said there is no single perfect measure of readiness. It concluded that standardized tests, when used with grades and course rigor, can act as a proxy for college performance. That view supports a “both-and” approach: keep holistic review, but restore a math benchmark to verify skills that transcripts sometimes hide. Such a model focuses on fit, not filters, and helps place students where they can thrive.
Equity Requires Matching Students With Courses They Can Pass
Supporters of restoring math tests argue that true equity means matching students to programs they are ready to complete. They warn that admitting STEM students without verified readiness raises dropout risks and widens achievement gaps later. Local education leaders in San Diego echoed that point in public actions urging the system to bring back standardized measures as a safety check for students and campuses alike.
For conservative readers, the takeaway is simple and practical. When leaders drop clear standards in the name of politics, students pay the price. Faculty across the University of California are asking for a common-sense fix: use tests as one tool, not the only tool, to ensure freshmen can handle basic math before they face calculus. That protects students, preserves academic rigor, and keeps public universities focused on results, not slogans.
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, ls.berkeley.edu, dailycal.org, taxprofblog.aals.org, dailybruin.com, insidehighered.com
