Richard Barrera, the frontrunner for California state superintendent of public instruction, stated he opposes reinstating standardized testing for students applying to University of California schools, despite concerns regarding students' basic math skills. Barrera, who has served on the San Diego Unified School Board since 2008 and is currently a senior policy adviser to State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, is running against Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified School Board, to succeed Thurmond.
In an interview with NBC LA’s Conan Nolan on October 4, Barrera reiterated his stance against the SAT as an admissions requirement for the UC system. Nolan highlighted concerns from math professors at UC Berkeley and UCLA about students arriving on campus lacking fundamental math skills. Barrera responded, stating, "Absolutely not," when asked if the SAT should return, and emphasized the responsibility of math teachers at universities to educate students.
Barrera acknowledged that many students come from challenging backgrounds and require support to catch up academically, arguing that exclusion is not the solution. Shaw criticized Barrera’s position, claiming that California students' proficiency in reading, writing, and math is declining, and that the education system is failing to prepare them for university-level work.
Shaw stated, "Students are not helped by being passed along without the skills college actually requires. They are helped by learning to read, write, and do math before they get there." She called for high standards in K-12 education to address the issue of grade inflation and ensure students are adequately prepared for college.
Concerns have been raised regarding the accuracy of high school grades in reflecting students' readiness for college. The number of college applicants reporting GPAs of 4.0 or higher has doubled over the past decade, while state testing indicates ongoing struggles in reading and math performance. The UC system eliminated the SAT and ACT from admissions decisions in 2020, citing criticisms that standardized tests disadvantage certain demographic groups.
Critics argue that the removal of these exams has resulted in fewer independent measures of academic preparedness, as high school GPAs continue to rise. Education advocate Charles Cole shared his experience of grade inflation, noting that despite earning strong grades in high school, he felt unprepared for college-level work.
California's state-mandated test results reveal a disparity between high GPAs and actual academic proficiency. According to the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments, approximately 57% of California 11th graders met or exceeded standards in English during the 2024-25 school year, while only 30.5% did so in math. Although these figures have improved from pandemic-era lows, they remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the California Department of Education.