By Neval Mulaomerovic
The University of California (UC) system decided to waive the Scholastic AchievementTest (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) requirements for the next five years according to the UC Office of the President. The Board of Regents also decided in its unanimous vote to develop its own standardized test by 2025 or phase out standardized testing entirely if it is not able to do so.
According to the board’s decision, students will be allowed to submit test scores for the2020 and 2021 admissions cycles, though campuses will be officially need-blind for the 2023 and 2024 admissions cycles. The SAT Essay and ACT Writing Test will be completely removed from the admissions decision beginning fall 2021, the board stated.
“I believe this test is a racist test, there’s no two ways about it,” UC Board of Regents Chair John Perez said. “I think this is an incredible step in the right direction toward aligning our admissions policy with the broad-based values of the University. I see our role as fiduciaries and stewards of the public good and this proposal before us is an incredible step in the right direction.”
Changes by both the UC system and the larger COVID-19 pandemic have affected plans for future testing on the MHS campus, SAT Supervisor Jonathan Mach said. The number of sessions and dates for next year are still tentative, he said.
“We will not be hosting as many sessions as we have previously because we do not know when we will be able to be on campus in large gatherings,” Mach said. “The UC system has already postponed scores for admission, and probably will come up with an alternative that better bridges the equity gap than these tests are able to do.”
These factors will likely change the future of standardized testing, as more students opt out of the SAT and ACT, Mach said. If the UC system creates its own form of testing, MHS will do its best to adapt, he said.
“There absolutely will be a decline in the interest of standardized testing,” Mach said.“MHS will always place a student’s interests first. Whatever the new testing platform is, we will always find a way to provide an avenue for our students.”
MHS began hosting SAT tests on campus two years ago as a way to make testing more accessible to students, Principal Francis Rojas said. Though there were talks to expand to hosting the ACT as well, changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of capacity on campus prevented these plans, he said.
“I haven’t heard about what SAT looks like next year, but there will definitely be an impact,” Rojas said. “I think that everyone is thinking ‘maybe it’s time for us to not buy into this anymore because it costs people money.’ So there’s the equity issue.”
The pandemic has likely devalued standardized testing because multiple test dates were canceled, Sophomore Brandyn Huynh said. More universities will likely follow the decision made by the UCs and students will likely decide to skip the SAT and ACT altogether in the future, he said.
“I believe that it’s a good thing in the sense that colleges may put more focus on extracurriculars now, but it also can be a bad thing because it takes away from parents who pay tons of money to provide their children with SAT and ACT prep,” Huynh said. “I honestly think that the UC decision will make college applications more selective and stressful. Everyone is on the same playing field now in terms of extracurriculars, so I feel that this makes getting accepted into college all the more competitive.”
The pandemic has impacted standardized testing significantly, but these changes seem to be beneficial to students, Freshman Dennis Samboa said.“I think high school students will be genuinely happy about UCs decision because one test does not define the full extent of their ability,” Samboa said. “Since the SAT and ACT are optional, I think colleges will be looking for something unique from each student and what makes them stand out from others.”