Legal Challenge to Standardized Testing Requirements at University of California System

[merc81]

A lawsuit expected to be filed [today] is challenging the University of California system’s use of the SAT or ACT as a requirement for admission. A draft of the document . . . argues the tests — long used to measure aptitude for college — are deeply biased and provide no meaningful information about a student’s ability to succeed, and therefore their requirement is unconstitutional.

Note that the case will advance the perspective that its underpinnings in social science have been firmly established:

“The evidence that we’re basing the lawsuit on is not in dispute” . . . .

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/10/786257347/lawsuit-claims-sat-and-act-are-illegal-in-california-admissions

[Mwfan1921]

A UC faculty task force is widely expected to recommend (late winter/spring 2020) dropping of testing requirements https://edsource.org/2019/as-faculty-deliberate-uc-berkeley-chancellor-calls-for-ending-the-use-of-sat-and-act/620491 and there seems to be trustee support to do so. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/article/U-of-California-leaders-support-dropping-use-of-14857672.php

Here is the full text of the lawsuit-coming warning letter sent to UC system leadership last month. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/11/06/groups-demand-university-california-stop-using-satact-scores-admissions-alleging-tests-discriminate-against-underprivileged-students/

[ucbalumnus]

Seems like the lawsuit is pointless if UC is likely to drop the SAT and ACT anyway. Meanwhile, it seems like they are ignoring CSU.

[RichInPitt]

If curious as to which part of the Constitution requires freedom from standardized testing.

[ucbalumnus]

@RichInPitt

If curious as to which part of the Constitution requires freedom from standardized testing.

It looks like they are trying to claim that the tests are a form of illegal discrimination under the state constitution.

[Mwfan1921]

UCs dropping standardized test requirement for Class of 2021

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/04/01/university-california-suspends-admission-testing-requirements-because-coronavirus-pandemic/

[evergreen5]

See also https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/response-covid-19.html

[merc81]

As reported in Inside Higher Ed, UC faculty have formally stated their belief in the predictive value of standardized tests even amid pressure “to hop on the test-optional train”:

Dropping the tests without any other changes, the authors concluded, would result in an average incoming student with a lower first-year GPA, lower probability of graduating within seven years and a lower GPA at graduation.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/04/university-california-faculty-decline-endorse-test-optional-admissions

[merc81]

This editorial further discusses information relevant to the evaluation of standardized testing requirements: https://www.forbes.com/sites/evangerstmann/2020/05/23/dropping-the-sat-and-act-is-about-politics-not-diversity/amp/#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s.