On Wednesday, Jan. 26, trustees at a California State University board meeting approved a proposal to eliminate SAT and ACT scores entirely from admissions. A final vote will take place in March. 

Due to COVID-19, the Cal State system suspended testing requirements for 2022 and 2023 incoming freshmen. After concerns that tests are biased, cause undue stress and are less useful than GPA in admissions considerations, the board moves to make this policy more permanent. 

“The issue of SAT and ACT testing has overwhelmed students and families for a long time,” said Cal State Trustee Diego Arambula in an interview with the L.A. Times. “To see that a GPA alone actually has better predictive power makes it abundantly clear to me that if we can clear this all off of the plates of young people and their families who are already going through such stressful times right now […] it’s in the right interest of our communities.”

The University of California system instituted a test-blind policy through 2025, and Harvard University announced its decision to maintain test-optional protocol through 2026.