In major college admissions news, the University of California system will end the consideration of SAT and ACT scores in its admissions process, a decision their Board of Regents reached unanimously. And just like that, College Board and ACT have all but lost a major customer. Several weeks ago, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the UC schools announced that SAT and ACT scores would be optional for the Class of 2025. But with Thursday’s announcement, the schools will remain test-optional for the Class of 2026. For the Classes of 2027 and 2028, the UC schools will not consider the submission of these scores for in-state residents. Rather, SAT and ACT scores will be considered only for out-of-state U.S. residents and international applicants. The tests will also be used during those years for the awarding of scholarships and to determine course placement for non-California residents.

Baby Bye Bye Bye to SAT and ACT at UC Schools

As Shawn Hubler reports for The New York Times in a piece entitled “University of California Will End Use of SAT and ACT in Admissions,” “The University of California on Thursday voted to phase out the SAT and ACT as requirements to apply to its system of 10 schools, which include some of the nation’s most popular campuses, in a decision with major implications for the use of standardized tests in college admissions. Given the size and influence of the California system, whose marquee schools include the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, Berkeley, the move is expected to accelerate the momentum of American colleges away from the tests, amid charges that they are unfair to poor, black and Hispanic students.”

Our Crystal Ball Reading Got It Right and Wrong

As our loyal readers are aware, the UC schools have been under fire for their consideration of the SAT and ACT in the admissions process. And on April 1st, Ivy Coach issued a crystal ball reading in which we wrote, “While the UC Board of Regents was quick to point out that suspending the SAT / ACT requirement for the Class of 2025 is not intended to be a permanent move but rather a temporary one to accommodate students who missed opportunities to take these tests because of cancelations due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, we suspect the move will be permanent. That’s right. Ivy Coach’s famously accurate crystal ball hereby makes another forecast — that the University of California schools, a system currently facing litigation for requiring the SAT or ACT, will segue to being test-optional for the Class of 2026 and beyond.”

Our Crystal Ball Is Famously Accurate, But Not Foolproof

So the reading was fairly accurate. However, before the novel coronavirus pandemic, our crystal ball forecasted that the SAT and ACT would be mandatory at the UC schools for at least the next few years. Apparently our crystal ball didn’t foresee on February 5th how a brewing worldwide pandemic would inspire the UC Board of Regents to make such a major change to its admissions process. And to our loyal readers who have been waiting for our famously accurate crystal ball to make an incorrect forecast, it happens on occasion — as it did in this instance. Hey, it’s a crystal ball used for divination that we’re talking about here.