California State University Drops SATs, ACTs From Admissions Requirements | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Ashe Schow.

    California State University (CSU) will no longer require students to submit SAT or ACT scores for college admissions, making it the largest four-year college system in the country to drop the requirement.

    CBS News reported that CSU's Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Wednesday to make the change, and that the move follows the University of California's decision to do the same in 2020. CSU had already suspended the use of test scores during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years due to the coronavirus pandemic, but this week made the move permanent.

    "This decision aligns with the California State University's continued efforts to level the playing field and provide greater access to a high-quality college degree for students from all backgrounds," CSU acting Chancellor Steve Relyea said in a statement, according to CBS. "In essence, we are eliminating our reliance on the high-stress, high-stakes test that has shown negligible benefit and providing our applicants with greater opportunities to demonstrate their drive, talents and potential for college success."

    Students can still use the test scores to get placed into the right math and English courses, but they will no longer need them specifically for admission into the university system. Instead, CSU said it would "utilize a multi-factored admission criteria to determine student eligibility in lieu of standardized test scores."

    The Daily Wire previously reported in June 2020 that the UC system voted to stop requiring SAT and ACT scores because, as some members claimed, the test was harmful to minorities. The Daily Wire reported:

    Yet only a few weeks earlier, the entire faculty senate voted to retain the SAT as a result of a study commissioned by UC system president Janet Napolitano that found that the SAT and the ACT increased minority enrollment across the UC system.

    "The 228-page report, loaded with hundreds of displays of data from the UC's various admissions departments, found that the SAT and a commonly used alternative test, ACT - also eliminated - actually helped increase black, Hispanic, and Native American enrollment at the system's 10 campuses. The report recommended that their use be continued," Richard Bernstein of RealClearInvestigations reported.

    The report stated, "The Task Force found that of the 22,613 students guaranteed admission through the statewide index (the admissions pathway in which test scores can compensate for lower HSGPA) but not through Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC), which only considers high school grades, about 25% were members of underrepresented minority groups, and 47% were low-income or first generation students. These students would not have been guaranteed admission on the basis of their grades alone."

    Yet the testing requirement was still removed.

    Earlier this year, The Daily Wire reported that the SAT was going to be shortened and taken entirely online.

    "Beginning in 2024 for U.S. students, the test will be shortened to two hours instead of the current grueling three hours, and it will allow more time per question. The new SAT will also feature shorter reading passages with one question per passage, and students will be allowed to use a calculator for the math section," The Daily Wire reported. "The new SAT will also be online, although it will still be administered in-person at schools and test centers. However, students will be able to choose whether they want to use their personal tablet or laptop or a school device. In addition, the new test will speed up the turnaround time for students to get their scores from weeks to days."

    The Daily Wire is one of America's fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.