Overview
- UC San Diego’s move away from SAT/ACT starting in 2020 coincided with remedial math placements rising from 1% to 12%, according to a UCSD analysis cited in the column.
- The UCSD report says students placed into the Math 2 remediation track rarely catch up, with about one-third not completing required calculus for biology and psychology and few, if any, finishing engineering.
- High school grades appear less reliable, with HERI reporting 84% of 2024 freshmen had A averages and over a quarter of UCSD Math 2 students holding 4.0 math GPAs.
- UCSD identifies SAT and ACT math scores as the strongest predictors of math placement, and a 2024 multi-institution study found test scores far outperformed grades in forecasting success at Ivy and Ivy-plus colleges.
- The piece notes a 61.1% six-year completion rate nationally and points to standardized alternatives, including expanded AP exams and reported AP score submission requirements at Caltech and Stanford.