A lawsuit filed against the University of California system Tuesday is trying to drop standardized test scores from its admission process, stating the system is “unconstitutional.”
The law firm out of Southern California claims that using SAT and ACT scores to help decide who gets into college, discriminates against students based on race and wealth.
UC Berkeley’s chancellor has already publicly criticized the
standardized tests, saying she would be in favor of doing away with the scores
as an admissions requirement – and she’s not alone.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t have the money or
resources to be able to afford that help, I feel really lucky and fortunate,”
said high school student Charlotte Doran.
The co-directors of a tutoring and test-prep center Classroom
Matters in Berkeley said they fully support dropping the tests because
students from privileged backgrounds have an unfair advantage.
“It’s a financially biased situation,” said Lisa Miller,
co-director of the center. “The more money you have, the better preparation you
can access.”
One-on-one tutors from companies like Princeton Review
charge as much as $150 dollars an hour.
“How are kids without that privilege supposed to compete?”
said Tatiana Guerreiro Ramos from Classroom Matter.
A spokesperson for the University of California said in a statement,
“We are disappointed that plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit when the University
of California has already devoted substantial resources to studying this
complex issue. Those resources include creating a special task force in charge
of investigating how SAT and ACT test scores are used in the admissions
process.”
That
special task force will announce its recommendations in 2020, which may include
whether to keep or make the test scores optional.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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