California judge blocks state university system from considering ACT and SAT scores News
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California judge blocks state university system from considering ACT and SAT scores

A California Superior Court judge in Alameda County granted a preliminary injunction on Monday, preventing The Regents of the University of California (UC) from considering ACT and SAT scores in admissions or scholarship decisions.

Plaintiffs in the case argued that UC’s “test-optional” policy violates the Americans with Disability Act by denying applicants with disabilities “meaningful access” to optional admissions opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic has affected access to testing for all applicants, “for persons with disabilities, the ability to obtain accommodations or even to locate suitable test locations for the test is ‘almost nil.'”

UC announced plans in May to phase out the use of ACT and SAT scores in determining admissions. The phased plan gives campuses the choice of whether to consider test scores as “optional” until 2022, at which point all nine campuses in the UC system will become “test-blind.” Some campuses, such as UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz and UC Irvine immediately dropped the use of tests, while others, like UC Riverside, UC Los Angeles and UC San Diego chose to make the tests optional. The Regents claim that disabled plaintiffs will not be harmed because, under the test-optional admissions process, the campuses will initially conduct a “holistic” review and only consider the scores of test submitters in a second round. Failure to submit test scores will not hurt applicants. However, “the tests are treated as a plus factor and thus test-submitters are given a second opportunity for admissions consideration.”

The one-month application period for admission to the 2021 class opens in November. In a press release, a representative for the plaintiffs said, “For the first time in decades, the country’s preeminent public university system will not award admissions based on an exam that systematically discriminates on the basis of race, wealth and disability.”

The injunction is in effect until a final determination is made in the case. The next court date is set for September 29.

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