U.S. university freshmen struggle with middle school math, professors sound the alarm

More than 3,000 professors within the University of California (UC) system are warning of an academic crisis, as many incoming freshmen cannot solve middle school math problems, prompting calls for the reinstatement of SAT/ACT scores.

An open letter has garnered significant attention across the U.S., with many professors reporting that incoming freshmen lack foundational math knowledge from 5 to 8 years prior.

Among the more than 3,000 faculty members who signed the open letter, approximately 2,300 are from STEM fields. This group includes five Nobel laureates, seven chairs of mathematics departments, and 73 chairs of other departments.

Over 900 faculty members from the social sciences and humanities also participated, expressing concern that students lacking a strong algebra foundation will struggle with statistics and quantitative reasoning, subjects crucial for their disciplines.

"Advising sessions that should focus on calculus instead turn into remedial lessons on fractions and basic algebra. This knowledge belongs to middle school," stated Zvezdelina Stankova, a professor of mathematics at UC Berkeley, in an article for the San Francisco Standard.

A report from late last year by the UC San Diego Board of Trustees and Administration revealed a significant increase in students with math proficiency below high school level at the institution. The number jumped from 30 students in 2020 to 900, a 30-fold increase.

Experts point to the elimination of SAT and ACT score requirements since 2020 as the root cause. This policy was initially implemented to support disadvantaged students during the Covid-19 pandemic but is now backfiring.

According to the Los Angeles Times, an increasing number of universities, including Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and public university systems in Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas, are restoring standardized test score requirements for admissions. However, the UC system remains outside this trend.

"The experiment has lasted six years, and it's time to re-evaluate it," said Janet Napolitano, former UC president.

The University of California system's administration is expected to discuss this issue next year. Linda Darling-Hammond, Chair of the California State Board of Education, stated that various alternatives for assessment are under consideration if the decision is made to reapply testing requirements.

Regarding this topic, California Governor Gavin Newsom stated he requires more specific data, according to the New York Post.

In California, the average budget per student has exceeded USD 28,000 annually. Despite this, data from Ed Source indicates that less than half of the state's students achieve "proficient" or "advanced" levels in math and reading comprehension.

For the 2025-2026 academic year, UC has approximately 300,000 students across all campuses, along with 265,000 faculty and staff. Among its 9 undergraduate member institutions, 8 are ranked among the top 25 best public universities in the U.S., according to the US News ranking organization.