Passing along article re: UC settlement on May 14, 2021 of a 2019 lawsuit here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/us/SAT-scores-uc-university-of-california.html Settlement document here: http://www.publiccounsel.org/tools/assets/files/1588.pdf
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One irony:
“Nothing in this Agreement prevents the REGENTS from considering scores on SAT Subject Tests in admissions or scholarship decisions if students choose to submit them.”
More importantly, there’s nothing in here which appears to stop implementation of a “future admissions exam” to replace the SAT and ACT. In fact since the settlement states that the UCs don’t intend to use the SAT and ACT after 2025 either, there may now be increased pressure to devise such an exam, and perhaps even to implement it sooner than 2025.
UC had already intended to drop the SAT and ACT after a transitional SAT and ACT optional period; the lawsuit and settlement basically eliminated the transitional SAT and ACT optional period. UC had already also intended to look into alternative testing (a new test or other state tests) as possible replacements.
SAT subject tests are no longer really relevant due to their discontinuation by The College Board. Next year’s high school seniors could theoretically send SAT subject tests covering material they learned as high school sophomores, but that may not be too common.
Of course, UC’s institutional research will be busy following this year’s cohort of test-blind admitted frosh over the next few years.
I agree with @ucbalumnus on all points especially the comment re: institutional research. TBH, from UC POV, it seemed like easy “gives” for the settlement.
As described in this thread Parents of the HS Class of 2024 - #68 by pathandpurpose), I had watched the May 2020 UC Board of Regents deliberations on moving away from SAT and ACT.
I had also watched the Jan 2021 UC Board of Regents on the feasibility of developing a replacement test by 2025. This article After dropping SAT and ACT, University of California urged not to add new admissions test | EdSource predates the Jan 2021 meeting; this article discusses the meeting with some UCLA faculty reaction
UC considers alternatives to standardized testing in admissions process - Daily Bruin
I wonder if this will increase the importance of AP test scores for students applying to the most competitive UCs. It seems like the UC faculty (or at least the UC Academic Senate leadership) favors some kind of standardized testing as part of the admission process, even if the Board of Regents does not. See UC Academic Senate Report; 51-0 vote supporting Academic Senate Report.
Actually, all exams are biased because only a handful students can get good scores, therefore should be all eliminated. College admission should be based on lottery, so everyone has exactly the same chance 
Needing a different test for UCs is just another burden on students because (unless other colleges change) students will now have to study for UC standardized test and the current ACT/SAT if they want to apply outside of UCs. What a mess.
I think they should just admit by zip code, like the new policy for Boston Latin (previously by score on an exam). Apportion the seats by zip codes according to the composition of the population of the state of California, and also proportionally for the rest of the nation, and the rest of the world. Admissions should be test-blind, GPA-blind, extracurricular-blind. No essays, either - not everyone has had access to the same opportunity to learn to read and write English. No letters of recommendation - they may reflect the recommenders’ own biases. Since all measures of ability and achievement are discriminatory, do not consider them, do not even look at them. Admit by lottery according to zip code, with the goal of forming a class that exactly reflects the composition of society.
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I guess the colleges are moving far LEFT. What does equality mean? Shouldn’t equality be for the opportunities but not the results? If people are seeking equality in the results, there is no reason to work hard and study hard.
I’ve been wondering about this effect as well. As the acceptance rate becomes ever lower and the UCs admit fewer students from each CA high school, will many students stop striving academically out of sense of futility?
Colleges (including but not limited to UCs) become seen as more desirable as they get more selective (or are perceived as such). So if the UCs are perceived as becoming more selective, that is likely to increase the striving for them and their application volume.
Yes, I agree in general. But when the rate of rejection crosses a certain threshold (say, 90% of applicants from a particular school are rejected from Davis, Irvine, SB, SD, LA, and B) I just wonder if students stop trying to get in to UC, realize they can’t afford the private schools with higher admit rates, and just settle for CSUs with lower admissions standards. When UC was within reach, students would at least try to achieve admission. What happens when it’s no longer a realistic goal and you can’t afford private school? The extremely low UC admit rate removes a motivator potentially.
Quite the condemnation of the UC’s actions in The Atlantic: Why Is the University of California Dropping the SAT? - The Atlantic
“In short, this decision will probably hurt thousands of Asian American teenagers, backfire for Black, Latino, and low-income students, and make little difference for affluent whites. The futility of the mission is so staggering that you have to ask: What will dropping the tests really accomplish?
It will give cover to the many forces invested in not improving the state’s K–12 education, especially in the poorest districts. Those include: Republicans, who don’t like pouring money into public education; taxpayers, who don’t like their dollars being spent on other people’s children; Democrats, who serve the teachers’ unions; and the mighty unions themselves, which seem more interested in protecting failing teachers than in reforming a failing system.“
Would it hurt for the author to wait for the statistics on what actually happens, rather than simply speculating? Condemnation based on speculation seems . . . weak.
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