More than 1,100 professors in mathematics and science at the University of California are urging the university's board of regents to reinstate standardized college entrance exams. They argue that underprepared students are lowering academic standards and consuming teaching resources.

This request was made in a two-page letter submitted last week. It points out a significant decline in the preparedness of students pursuing studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related disciplines. The letter states that nearly one-third of students taking first-semester calculus at UC Berkeley "show serious underpreparation."

"Today we see a preparation gap so severe that faculty are forced to reteach middle school mathematics while simultaneously instructing students in the quantitative skills required for science, engineering, economics, and other demanding fields," the professors wrote in the letter. "The University of California has finite resources and can only help a finite number of students."

This collective appeal follows a report released last year by faculty at the University of California, San Diego. That report showed that between 2020 and 2025, the proportion of students placed into remedial elementary and middle school math courses before taking pre-calculus surged from 0.5% to 8.5%.

Critics have long argued that college entrance exams like the SAT and ACT limit opportunities for Black, Hispanic, and low-income students. Harry Feder, the executive director of FairTest, an organization advocating for the elimination of such tests, noted that the pandemic accelerated the trend of schools making these tests optional or dropping them entirely. Feder stated that over 90% of schools no longer require these test scores for admission today.