By Hemesh Patel
Daily Bruin Staff
Reactions to UC President Richard Atkinson’s proposal to
bar the use of the SAT I for admissions are mixed at UCLA ““
but for Chancellor Albert Carnesale, dropping the SAT will not make
a big difference here.
Though some students may believe that GPA and SAT scores are the
only factors that make up the review to decide who will be
admitted, Carnesale said this is not the case at either UC Berkeley
or UCLA.
“The SAT I has its principal role in determining UC
eligibility but at UCLA, the admissions process is very
comprehensive,” Carnesale said.
He said in addition to GPA and SAT scores, UCLA looks at AP and
honors coursework, the strength of the applicant’s senior
year program and the SAT II exams, which test specialized
subjects.
“The SAT is just one of a large number of factors,”
Carnesale said. “We’re not strongly dependent on
it.”
The change is not only expected to make a difference in
admissions but also in outreach.
If the SAT I is dropped in the admissions process, Jack Sutton,
executive officer for UCLA outreach, said university funds that
would have been allocated for SAT I preparation may be directed
towards preparation for SAT II exams.
“All of our energy would be focused on what students are
learning in school and not on a test that does not have a direct
correlation with what they are doing in class,” Sutton
said.
If the proposal does come into effect, the UC could make efforts
in constructing novel ways of dealing with applicants. For example,
the university may devise achievement tests specialized for
coursework required for admission to the university, according to
Carnesale.
The measure will not only benefit undergraduates, but the entire
system of higher education, said Kinshasa Curl, external vice
president for the Graduate Student Association.
She said eliminating the SAT would allow those who applied to
the university to be accepted on their own merits.
Art history professor Robert Brown called Atkinson’s
suggestion a bold step, stating that the SAT is an easy way of
dealing with the problem of grade inflation.
However, Brown said he does not believe the standardized exam
does a good job at predicting how a student will do at the
university level.
“It’s ludicrous that a three hour test after 12
years of education will determine whether or not a student gets in
to the university,” Brown said.
Curl also said that if the proposal goes through it may lead to
a more diverse pool of applicants at the graduate level.
“A large number of UC undergraduates are drawn into the
professional and graduate schools,” Curl said. “There
will be a huge overarching impact on education and higher education
in terms of access because the first step is at the undergraduate
level.”
While Atkinson said the proposal is about fairness, some
professors believe it would lead to discrimination if acceptances
were based on academic performance alone.
“This is nothing but flat-out and childish
silliness,” said Thomas Schwartz, professor of political
science.
Schwartz said the SAT can not be simply eliminated and there
must be an alternative way to Atkinson’s proposal that
measures the academic quality of high schools. He said he doubts
the Academic Senate will put Atkinson’s suggestion into
effect.
“I don’t think the Academic Senate, as liberal as it
is, will go along with the proposal,” Schwartz said.
“This is cockamamy discrimination in favor of poor schools
that give out easy grades ““ no one wants that.”
But some students do favor the suggestion to cut the SAT in
undergraduate admissions.
“I think this idea is wonderful because the SAT really
does not mean anything and it is not an accurate representation of
how you are going to do in college,” said Molly Gould a
third-year biology student.
Gould said she knows students who received scores of 1500 and
above on their SATs and are now performing poorly at the
university.
“Its not measuring your intelligence but one’s
ability to take a random test,” Gould said. “It’s
too much of an institutionalized test and should be taken away
now.”
Other students do not agree with the suggestion made by Atkinson
because the university would not be left with a viable alternative
to the standardized exam.
“The reason why I am against the suggestion is that the
SAT is a clear standard used to select students to the
university,” said Khanh Ngo, a third-year biochemistry
student.
She said if it is eliminated, selection criteria for the
university would be a lot more vague.