SAN DIEGO – Last December, a civil rights coalition opposing the University of California's use of the SAT/ACT standardized tests for admissions filed a lawsuit against the school system. Now, other colleges throughout the state are announcing their intention to voluntarily part ways with the tests.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Compton Unified, Community Coalition, Dolores Huerta Foundation, Little Manila Rising, College Seekers and College Access Plan and Chinese for Affirmative Action.
Despite the fact that the lawsuit was only filed against the 10-school UC system, other colleges, including the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), have announced that they will be voluntarily ending this practice.
“Caltech's Undergraduate Admissions office, with the support of the Faculty Committee on Freshman Admissions, has announced that it will be eliminating the requirement for submission of SAT subject test scores as part of the undergraduate admissions process,” the Institute wrote in a statement. “This change will be in effect for those students applying for the Caltech class that begins in the fall of 2021.”
With removing barriers being the main focus of the coalition’s lawsuit, Caltech says it will focus on doing just that.
"In reviewing our admissions requirements, we have come to the conclusion that the requirement for submission of SAT subject test scores creates an unnecessary barrier to applying for a Caltech education," Nikki Chun, director of undergraduate admissions, said, noting that only a small percentage of high schoolers globally take the SAT subject tests. "We are guiding our focus back to long-term academic STEM preparedness based on coursework and grade performance."
The coalition initially expressed their issues with the current system in an October letter saying that, among other problems, the tests create barriers for students of color and those with disabilities.
“Research demonstrates that the SAT and ACT systematically prevent talented and qualified students with less accumulated advantage – including students with less wealth, students with disabilities, and underrepresented minority students – from accessing higher education at the University of California,” the coalition wrote.
The letter also went on to say that the tests produce “meaningless results.”