Unprepared college students forced to relearn ‘middle school mathematics,’ California professors reveal
hundreds of universities California (UC) professors signed a letter demanding the reinstatement of SAT/ACT math requirements for students after announcing they were reteaching basic math to incoming students.
More than 500 faculty members across California campuses have signed a letter demanding UC regents and leadership reinstate academic standards for the 2027 admissions cycle; This found that eliminating standardized testing requirements forced professors to help students with “middle school” math.
“We are now observing that preparation gaps are so severe that educators are being forced to reteach middle school mathematics while also teaching the material students need for science, engineering, economics, and other computationally challenging fields,” the letter said.
University of California professors signed a letter urging campuses to reinstate SAT and ACT math requirements.
(AP Images)
While faculty members acknowledged UC’s history of helping “under-resourced students” succeed in STEM fields, they noted that the university system can only help large numbers of students with limited resources and that the effort may actually backfire for under-prepared students.
“Additionally, the widening gap between underprepared and well-prepared students is polarizing courses, weakening the foundations available to many students and making it difficult to provide the level of education needed for advanced STEM studies. UC is increasingly unable to provide students with the education needed to be leaders in California’s scientific, technological, and economic future,” they wrote.
“We are already seeing the warning signs: longer paths through prerequisite material, reduced preparation for advanced courses, and increasing pressure to reduce quantitative rigor,” the professors continued. “Left unaddressed, these trends will lead to lower graduation rates, longer time to degree, and lower completion of STEM majors, with consequences for California’s highly skilled STEM workforce.”
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UC professors described incoming students being taught “middle school” math.
In a comment Fox News Digital, “In light of concerns expressed by UC faculty members about student preparation for undergraduate education, in March I called on our systemwide faculty Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS) to address issues related to student preparation for college and UC’s admissions process in a timely manner,” said UC Academic Senate President Ahmet Palazoğlu.
University of California accepted I don’t consider the SAT or ACT anymore scores when making admissions and scholarship decisions following a settlement of a lawsuit filed in 2019 on behalf of low-income students of color and students with disabilities.
The lawsuit argued that low-income black students were at a disadvantage because standardized test questions often contained an inherent bias that more privileged children were better equipped to answer, and that wealthier students often took expensive prep courses to raise scores that others could not afford. It was also argued that disabled students could not easily go to exams and classrooms.
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A UC San Diego study found that one in eight incoming students falls below middle school levels in math.
The UC Board of Regents previously voted in 2020 to eliminate the SAT and ACT tests from admission requirements by 2024 and eliminate them for California residents after that.
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The 2025 UC San Diego Senate-Executive Working Group Admissions report found that between 2020 and 2025, nearly one in eight entering students dropped out. below middle school math levels.
Original article source: California professors reveal unprepared college students being forced to relearn ‘middle school math’
