Cal State college system drops SAT/ACT admission requirement

In a move that squarely places California’s public universities at the forefront of the national trend to drop standardized tests, the Cal State university system will eliminate SAT and ACT exams from admission requirements, officials decided Wednesday. The California State University’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the change, aligning the country’s largest four-year university system with the “test free” admissions process already adopted by the University of California college system. Acting Cal State system Chancellor Steve Relyea praised the decision, saying it will help “level the playing field and provide greater access to a high quality college degree for students from all backgrounds.” Critics have long argued that standardized tests put minority and low-income college applicants at a disadvantage and pose a barrier to their admission. The system had suspended the standardized test requirement during the pandemic, instead basing admission on what it called a “multi factor admissions score” that allowed campuses to consider high school grade point averages, extra curricular activities and leadership roles as well as whether applicants were first-generation college student or came from schools with a high percentages of low-income students. Board Trustee Diego Arambula said it was important to drop the requirement because “reducing the stress and inequity that currently exists today are huge.” Trustee Yammilette Rodriguez said dropping standardized tests will help students avoid what she went through at a rural high school that she has said “lacked college support.” She had a 4.0 grade point average but missed SAT deadlines and didn’t take the test — and as a result had to attend a community college before she could transfer to California State University, Fresno.