A UC Berkeley mathematics professor has warned that many students are arriving at university severely underprepared in mathematics, blaming the University of California’s test-blind admissions policy, Fox News reported.

Professor Zvezdelina Stankova said some students are five to eight years behind, with university office hours often spent reteaching fractions and basic algebra instead of calculus.

According to diagnostic data cited by Stankova, 71% of Calculus I students tested between 2018 and 2020 were ready or nearly ready. Among students tested between 2021 and 2023, that figure fell to 51%, dropping to 44% in 2023.

Stankova and thousands of UC faculty members have urged the system to reconsider its decision to stop using SAT and ACT scores. UC President James B. Milliken has said the university is conducting a data-driven review of its admissions policies and student readiness.The debate comes as several elite US universities, including Columbia, move to reinstate standardised testing requirements