More than 600 STEM faculty across the University of California system urged UC leadership to reinstate SAT/ACT math score requirements for applicants to STEM-intensive majors, arguing that test-optional admissions have produced widespread math-underpreparedness. Faculty say they are frequently forced to reteach middle-school math while attempting to cover college-level STEM concepts. The letter, coordinated through UC-Berkeley’s math department and distributed systemwide, cites UC-San Diego data that found math skills below high-school level surged nearly thirtyfold over five years, including 70% of affected students below middle-school level. It also points to diagnostic testing showing severe calculus preparation deficits among incoming Berkeley students. The push revives an equity-focused debate over whether standardized testing is an “obstacle” or a readiness prerequisite, with faculty arguing that removing readiness measurement simply relocates barriers into the classroom where remediation is costlier and harder to overcome.