Why more students are taking the SAT, even as UC and CSU campuses remain test-free

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California high school students are increasingly taking the SAT, as more universities are again requiring standardized tests for admission and as the University of California is debating whether to reinstate its test requirement amid concerns over academic preparedness.

In all, 138,763 California class of 2026 students took the SAT, up 12.6% from the prior year — and the largest gain in three years — according to data released Tuesday from the College Board, the nonprofit organization that develops and proctors the SAT.

Though the UC and California State University systems do not use the SAT or other standardized tests in admissions decisions, an increasing number of universities have reinstated testing requirements after many suspended them during the height of the pandemic, including the University of Texas, all Ivy League schools, Stanford and Caltech.

Priscilla Rodriguez, the College Board’s senior vice president of College Readiness Assessments, said that shift probably contributed to the increase in California test takers.

“They want to have a score to keep all these options open,” Rodriguez said, adding that the College Board has also done more to make the test more readily available.

Six years after dropping the SAT and ACT, the University of California is weighing a return to standardized testing following intense pressure from faculty who say incoming students lack basic math and reasoning skills.

The UC and CSU systems first eliminated testing requirements in 2020 amid the pandemic and later permanently did away with the tests over concerns that results correlated more with race and family wealth than a student’s ability to succeed.

Though the state’s public universities still don’t use scores from the SAT and the similar ACT exam in admissions, they do use the exams as one factor in determining course placement. For example, does a student need to take an entry-level math class or can they skip ahead to more advanced mathematics?

UC is currently reevaluating its SAT testing policy amid faculty concerns that many students are especially ill-prepared in math.

For the 2026 high school class, students sent their SAT scores to schools that require it for admissions and those that do not. USC, for example, remains test optional, meaning students can choose to have their scores considered in the admission process, but doing so is not mandatory.

The College Board sends test results directly to colleges selected by students. USC received the most scores from California students, followed by UCLA, the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford and UC Irvine.

Among California’s 2026 graduating class who took the SAT, 40.6% were Latino, 21.7% were Asian, 21.4% were white and 4.2% were Black, according to the College Board.

Equity concerns drove some universities across the nation to eliminate standardized testing requirements for admission. Proponents of the move argued that a high school GPA is a better factor in determining readiness than standardized testing that favors students with wealthy parents who can afford private tutors and test prep classes.

The UC regents chair set a firm and fast deadline for a faculty recommendation on the use of SAT scores in admissions. Professors, advocates and the Trump administration are watching the high-stakes study.

Opponents of ditching testing requirements argued that the exams are a key tool to uniformly predict academic success from students of divergent backgrounds, as well as schools that may issue grades differently.

Amid pushback from faculty concerned over student preparedness, UC Regents are now engaging in what they have described as a months-long process to decide whether to reinstate SAT requirements.

Rodriguez said the current reevaluation at UC began after most 2026 graduates took the SAT and probably didn’t factor into the increase reported Tuesday, but she expects the debate to lead to even more test takers this year.

Long-running racial disparities could be seen among 2026 graduates who took the SAT in California.

Asian students had the highest scores, followed by people of two or more races, white students, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Latinos and Black students.

Rodriguez said the College Board in recent years has increasingly partnered with nonprofits to offer free test preparation services, including live online tutoring.

And she said the racial disparities in SAT results are seen in other standardized measures of academic knowledge and reflect of the nation’s inequalities in K-12 education rather than a specific problem with the SAT.

Jacqueline Villatoro, a college counselor at Linda Marquez High School, said most students at the Huntington Park campus take the SAT, because it’s offered for free during school hours. But in the last year, she said she’s noticed more students retaking it to improve their scores, because the private schools they are interested in once again require it.

“When they went test optional, kids were not taking it again,” Villatoro said.

More UC students are failing intro math courses as regents weigh reinstating SAT Sept. 17, 2026 Three state senators press UC to restore SAT test requirements, backing faculty outcry Aug. 26, 2026 Voices Contributor: SAT scores are another way UC schools are closing their doors to diversity Aug. 12, 2026 Show Comments California The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.

Andrew Khouri covers education for the Los Angeles Times. He previously covered housing and homelessness at The Times and holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication.

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