![Two anthropomorphic test papers, labeled SAT and ACT, stand outside the UC Regents’ Office begging to come back, carrying briefcases marked Standardized Testing and College Entrance.]","SAT and ACT characters with worried faces outside a government door labeled UC Regents’ Office, carrying briefcases about testing requirements.]+"...](https://ridgecrestonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/SAT-and-ACT-will-be-reconsidered-the-this-weeks-UC-Regents-meetings-1200x675.jpg)
SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 19 (Our California Times) — The University of California is once again weighing whether SAT or ACT scores should be part of undergraduate admissions.
If the system restores a testing rule, it would not happen right away. UC officials say the earliest possible start would be the fall 2028 application cycle, after faculty review and a final vote by the UC Board of Regents.
What changed?
UC Regents voted unanimously in 2020 to end required SAT and ACT scores for admissions. That decision made UC one of the largest public university systems in the country to move away from standard test scores in admissions.
The current review is looking at whether that policy should change again. UC’s Academic Senate, the faculty group that helps guide academic policy, is leading the review through a shared-governance process. Two faculty-led work groups are involved: one reviewing whether UC should require the SAT, ACT, or California’s Smarter Balanced test, and another reviewing high school course requirements for admission.
Why is the test debate back?
Supporters of bringing back a test requirement say standardized scores can help show how prepared applicants are for college-level math and writing.
That argument has come from faculty letters and petitions, including one signed by more than 1,400 STEM faculty members and another set of open letters with more than 3,000 faculty signatures urging UC to reconsider testing.
UC Student Association leaders have pushed back, saying restoring standardized testing would not improve student readiness.
How does UC decide admissions policy?
UC uses a shared-governance process for major academic policy changes. That means faculty review comes first, then the Board of Regents has the final say.
At the July regents meeting, Regents Chair Maria Anguiano said the Academic Senate should deliver a recommendation by the end of the current academic year, around June 2027. Ahmet Palazoglu, the Academic Senate chair, said in a UC Office of the President statement that the senate is not withdrawing its commitment to a full review of standardized testing in admissions.
UC officials have said that even if the Regents approve a change, campuses would not see it in admissions until the fall 2028 cycle at the earliest.
What happened the last time UC changed its test policy?
UC began phasing out SAT and ACT use after the 2020 regents vote. Later legal action further limited how the university could use test scores, with UC agreeing in a settlement not to consider SAT or ACT scores in admissions through spring 2025.
One reason the new debate is complicated is that UC had once said it would develop its own admissions test, but that plan was never completed.
What would a new rule mean for students and schools?
Any return of testing would affect California high school students applying to UC campuses statewide. It could also change how schools and families prepare for college admissions, especially in grades 11 and 12 when students are building transcripts, taking advanced classes, and planning applications.
For now, UC has not said which test, if any, it would choose. The system also has not said whether any requirement would apply to all applicants or only some groups, such as students applying to certain majors.
So the question is not whether UC has already restored testing. It has not. The real issue is whether faculty and regents will decide that test scores should return as one part of a broader admissions review — and, if so, how much weight they should carry.