Written by Vincent Cain
Students who apply to California State schools have one less requirement to worry about.
Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations was amended by California State University’s Board of Trustees to remove the requirement of SAT and ACT scores for undergraduate admissions for 23 universities.
On Tuesday, CSU released a statement saying that the Admission Advisory Council found that “SAT and ACT tests provide negligible additional value to the CSU admission process.”
Joshua Grasmick of Essential Test Preparation said, “There was a feeling of inequity for some lower-income students and just what has happened in the past with some scandal stuff. I think there is a bitter taste.”
This action comes after the University of California’s Board of Regents voted to remove the requirements at nine schools last year.
Some parents may feel relieved that the schools are now more accessible, but Grasmick says not all parents will feel that way.
“I think that’s my worry if I am trying to get my kid to go to a Cal State, is that right now what is the criteria for admission,” he asked. “Why would my kid not get accepted but another kid would? I think it’s completely subjective right now.”
According to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, more than 1,800 accredited four-year universities have removed the ACT or SAT requirement.
Kermit Boyd of Essential Test Preparation said, “I know they are going to have some measures they are going to take in place of that standardized test. I am just anxious to see what they are going to be.”
Officials said that when they dropped their SAT and ACT requirements, the UC system had plans to produce a new standardized test for applicants in the fall of 2025.
