California’s College Testing Mistake The state university system puts racial politics above merit.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/californias-college-testing-mistake-11590189601?mod=opinion_lead_pos3
Thursday’s decision by the University of California regents to eliminate the SAT and ACT in admissions is a historic blow to excellence in higher education. Applicants to the largest university system in the U.S. will now be judged entirely on how well they can flatter admissions bureaucracies with coached personal statements, as well as high school grade-point averages whose meanings are obscured by grade inflation.
The UC started using the SAT in the 1960s to find talented students from modest backgrounds. As an exhaustive faculty senate report—ignored by university leadership—put it this year, “This original intent is clearly being realized at UC.” Yet diversity bean-counting has displaced the philosophy of merit and excellence that made the UC the envy of the world in the last century. The claim that math and reading tests discriminate against minorities (except Asians) easily won the day, never mind the evidence.
California’s political class is desperate to create a different racial makeup at the UC, and it sees testing as an obstacle. The SAT shines a light on failures and inequalities in California’s public K-12 school system. Black and Hispanic students are more likely to attend low-quality schools which because of unions are nearly impossible to reform. For California’s political class the convenient solution is to ban tests—concealing the achievement gap while congratulating themselves on a commitment to equity and inclusion.
The result is that wealthy students will find the system easier to game, and more students of all races who aren’t ready will be thrust into UC schools. If that happens on a large scale, the rigor of instruction will have to fall to keep graduation rates up and the value of degrees may erode.
California was a bellwether when it started using the SAT 60 years ago, so some think this week’s move heralds the beginning of the end for testing nationwide. Yet few other schools have made moves as radical as UC’s. The University of Chicago made headlines in 2018 by going test-optional, but 85% to 90% of admitted applicants still submitted a score last year.
The higher education business model was already under pressure before the coronavirus, and the recession may force deep cuts in the UC. The regents’ political move to compromise educational quality against faculty advice does not bode well for the future of a system that for decades was an engine of opportunity.
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