The University of California is rightly concerned about making its student application process as equitable as possible, yet it’s clinging to part of the application that clearly benefits wealthy students.
Not the SAT. No, UC decided months ago to do away with all college entrance exams, despite the well-reasoned report from a faculty task force saying that a new and better test can and should be devised and that admission test scores are a better predictor of college success than grades. Critics of the SAT and its competitor, the ACT, pointed out that scores are closely tied to financial circumstances and family education. Among other things, more affluent students can afford private tutors and multiple test sittings to improve their scores. Add the rampant cheating in foreign countries, and you’ll find little to love about the giant testing organizations.
What UC inexplicably is holding on to, though, is the essay portion of its application, even though a 2021 report from Stanford University found that high-quality essays for UC applicants were even more tightly correlated with family income than the standardized tests.
