Judge bars University of California from all use of SAT, ACT scores in admissions

Bob Egelko and Nanette Asimov Sep. 1, 2020 Updated: Sep. 1, 2020 5:53 p.m.

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1of6Student Cameron Johnson, 19 years old, begins to move to her UC Berkeley dorm room on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, in Berkeley, Calif. On Tuesday, a superior court judge barred the University of California from using the SAT and ACT tests for admissions.Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

2of6People walk through the UC Berkeley campus on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 in Berkeley, California.Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

3of6The empty hallway of Wheeler Hall is seen as a person is reflected in a window walking through the UC Berkeley campus on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 in Berkeley, California.Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

The University of California, which has already stopped requiring applicants to take the SAT or ACT, must go further and prohibit campuses from allowing prospective students to submit their scores, a judge ruled Tuesday in a victory for students with disabilities.

The UC regents voted in May to drop the Scholastic Aptitude Test and American College Testing exam as admissions requirements, in response to complaints by low-income, minority and disabled students that the standardized tests were unfair to applicants who could not afford preparation classes and tutors, or whose first language was not English. The students sued in December.