Gavin Newsom dodges SAT question as 1000+ UC professors warn college students cant do basic math
Gov.Gavin Newsom refused to take a position on a raging debate over standardized testing in University of California admissions — dismissing as “anecdotes” the alarming reports from professors of college students who can’t do basic math.
The governor was asked at a Wednesday press conference in Hayward about an open letter from more than 1,200 UC professors, including Nobel prize winners and leading scientists, who warned of a “severe” crisis of incoming freshman who are unable to even do fractions, forcing educators to dumb down Calculus and other advanced courses.“Show me the data,” Newsom said.
“I have feelings about this, there’s anecdotes about this, but I want to see the data,” he said.The UC San Diego Senate-Administration Working Group last year found a shocking 30-fold increase in college students who lacked basic math skills.In 2020, only 30 incoming freshmen at the school had math skills below high school level.
In 2025, that number rose to 900, according to the UC San Diego panel.Professors have blamed the elimination of SAT and ACT testing in 2020 as a requirement for university admissions, as critics argue the tweak has merely rewarded rampant grade inflation.
“Some students are five to eight years behind in mathematics.Office hours that should be spent discussing integrals instead become lessons on fractions and basic algebra you would expect students to learn in middle school,” wrote Zvezdelina Stankova, a math professor at UC Berkeley, in an op-ed piece for the San Francisco Standard.The University of California Board of Regents is expected to take up the issue next year.
“There are some different options for testing if they choose to bring it back, and [University of California Regents] are looking at that now,” added Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the California Board of Education.The governor made the comments at Schafer Park Elementary School, where he highlighted the state’s “jaw-dropping” investme...