Will UC stop requiring SAT IIs?

San Francisco Chronicle "College Bound" columnist Joanne Levy-Prewitt looks at whether the SAT subject tests are not long for this world (Nov. 25, 2007):

Several weeks ago, a friend sent me a hyperlink to an article in the Daily Bruin, the newspaper published by the students at UCLA. The headline said, "UC Proposes Changes to SAT Subject Tests' Weight."

The journalists at UCLA had unearthed something important: The University of California is considering eliminating its SAT Subject Test requirement for admissions.

This might seem insignificant. But consider that in 2002, at the urging of the University of California, the College Board (the publisher of the SAT) added the previously optional writing test to the SAT Reasoning Test. As a result, every student who takes the SAT Reasoning Test must take the writing test, even if the colleges to which they apply ignore the results (and most do). Clearly, the UC policies set by its governing Board of Regents have affected college-bound students across the country.

UC regents may do so again - by eliminating the requirement that students take two Subject Tests to be eligible for admission. ...

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Including the nine UC undergraduate campuses, there are only about 50 colleges nationwide that require the SAT Subject Tests. An additional 20 or so recommend them, and 30 more consider them. Still, while there are relatively few colleges that require the Subject Tests, they are among the most selective in the nation and compete with the UC system for the highest-achieving students. You can bet they will be interested to see what UC administrators and regents eventually decide.

Read the rest of the column.