Richard Barrera rejects SAT reinstatement for UC system
Richard Barrera, the San Diego Unified School Board president and candidate for California state superintendent, told NBC Los Angeles host Conan Nolan on Sunday that he would not back reinstating SAT or ACT requirements for University of California schools.
The remarks matter because the UC system eliminated standardized testing in 2020 after studies showed the exams disadvantaged Black, Hispanic and low‑income applicants. As professors at campuses such as UC San Diego and UC Berkeley raise concerns that incoming freshmen often cannot perform basic operations like fractions, the debate over admissions standards has resurfaced.
When Nolan asked why Barrera would not consider a return to testing, the candidate answered firmly, "Absolutely not," and added, "So math teachers at UCLA and Berkeley and every place else, part of your job that you get paid by the taxpayers to do is to teach our kids."
"Teach them fractions when they’re at the preeminent institutions of higher learning in the country?" Nolan pressed. Barrera replied, "Listen, we’ve got students who are coming up from incredible experiences, first‑generation students overcoming so many barriers to be on the campus. Those students are capable of learning quickly. What they need is a little support to be caught up. What they don’t need is to be excluded."
Barrera emphasized that the solution is not another gate‑keeping exam but early remediation and stronger core curricula in K‑12 schools. He said public higher‑education institutions should partner with districts to provide targeted help rather than turning students away.
Critics cite data showing a growing proportion of applicants reporting GPAs of 4.0 or higher, while university faculty note that many lack essential middle‑school math skills. The contrast raises questions about grade inflation at the high‑school level and whether current admission practices accurately predict college success.
In the interview, Barrera also highlighted the historical equity rationale for dropping the tests, noting that they correlated more with household income than academic potential. He positioned his stance as part of a broader effort to ensure equity and opportunity for first‑generation scholars.
The candidate, who also serves as senior policy adviser for special projects at the California Department of Education, faces a runoff against Sonja Shaw, president of Chino Valley Unified School Board. Voters will decide whether Barrera’s approach to admissions and K‑12 remediation will shape California’s education policy in the coming years.
