Originally published in Inside Higher Ed on February 2, 2026.
Should colleges and universities require the SAT/ACT again? More than 2,000 colleges and universities remain test-optional or test-free. The debate on testing continues to evolve as new data points emerge.
One recent controversy is the rise of students needing remedial math at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), as documented in a report from the UCSD Academic Senate. The UC system has used test-free admissions since 2020. Some think the UC admissions policy is setting students up to fail. They argue that without required testing, the UC system lacks the tools that it needs to keep these students out.