The article points to one root cause: “The failure rate has climbed substantially since the UC system dropped the SAT and ACT as admission requirements. The 2020-21 academic year was the last in which the standardized tests were required for freshman admission.” And…
“The rate jumped to 13% in 2021-22 before dipping slightly to 12.6% the following year. It climbed to 15.3% in 2023-24, eased to 14.9% in 2024-25 and then surged to its highest level in 2025-26.”
Had an offspring with 1450 SAT, took 12 AP tests, Passed AP Calc AB in 9th grade, AP Calc BC in 10th grade, attended a top 5 USNWR STEM high school, and was not admitted to Cal or UCLA likely because was out of state.
Worth noting that there have been national declines in math for older children during the pandemic that haven't really reversed. It has for younger kids though:
The illusion that higher education is achievable without securing foundational mathematical reasoning is dangerous. It may just be another expense that accumulates opportunity costs, driving meaningless intellectual snobbery and labor-market mismatch.
I remember Khan Academy coming out in 2008 and it was able to invigorate a love in Math that I had lost many years prior. I understand COVID, and the difficulties these kids have faced with remote learning, but I'm struggling to understand how a summer before school spent on Khan Academy preparing you for "everything you missed" is somehow not possible for 1/5 kids to accomplish?
> I'm struggling to understand how a summer before school spent on Khan Academy preparing you for "everything you missed" is somehow not possible for 1/5 kids to accomplish?
Some portion of these students will have passed their high school math classes and be unaware that they needed to prepare.
Some portion will not prepare even if they know they need to.
Some will not be well suited to self directed programs such as Khan Academy.
I took a quick look and saw that at least UCLA requires a math placement test or a high enough score on the AP calc exam in order to enroll in precalc or higher; perhaps the placement test needs work to better select classes for students.
But how is this different from students in 2007, who had no access to Khan Academy, and were also unaware they needed to prepare?
That also did not prepare even though they were aware?
That never even had access to self directed programs like Khan Academy?
I got to see the SAT go from 1600 to 2400 back to 1600 and now it's not required? It has to be something fundamental given it's a recurring nationwide pattern.
What's different now is 6 years ago these students had a major loss of continuity in instruction. Most schools talk about accomodating the skill gaps that came from that, but most of the accomodation is giving passing grades regardless of student understanding. I'm not sure if it's statistically significant, but in my circle, a lot of families made a significant move during or after covid, and moving to a new school system can also be disruptive.
Schools tend to be really bad at assessing individual students and tailoring instruction to what each student needs, even though they've been talking it up for a long time.
Doesn't help they are in their late teens, early 20s and excepted to forego the screaming of their hormones to become a good worker drone for the same plutocrats filling them with media about wild college tours of bacchanalia while luring them to burden themselves with debt enough the poor earnest slobs will try to pay back so they enter the workforce and contribute to making those plutocrats wealthy while being too dull or domain specific to replace those plutocrats.
Yeah its freedom alright, freedom to chose coke or pepsi to swallow your pills then you better get back to work, otherwise you could be like that homeless man you stepped over coming in.
Isn't more important that the classroom is an accurate representation of the various groups applicants fall into? If 15% of the population identifies as a box of rocks, it's important that their diverse ideas are included. We're stronger with more diverse viewpoints..
The article points to one root cause: “The failure rate has climbed substantially since the UC system dropped the SAT and ACT as admission requirements. The 2020-21 academic year was the last in which the standardized tests were required for freshman admission.” And…
“The rate jumped to 13% in 2021-22 before dipping slightly to 12.6% the following year. It climbed to 15.3% in 2023-24, eased to 14.9% in 2024-25 and then surged to its highest level in 2025-26.”
Had an offspring with 1450 SAT, took 12 AP tests, Passed AP Calc AB in 9th grade, AP Calc BC in 10th grade, attended a top 5 USNWR STEM high school, and was not admitted to Cal or UCLA likely because was out of state.
Worth noting that there have been national declines in math for older children during the pandemic that haven't really reversed. It has for younger kids though:
https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ltt/2025/
The illusion that higher education is achievable without securing foundational mathematical reasoning is dangerous. It may just be another expense that accumulates opportunity costs, driving meaningless intellectual snobbery and labor-market mismatch.
I remember Khan Academy coming out in 2008 and it was able to invigorate a love in Math that I had lost many years prior. I understand COVID, and the difficulties these kids have faced with remote learning, but I'm struggling to understand how a summer before school spent on Khan Academy preparing you for "everything you missed" is somehow not possible for 1/5 kids to accomplish?
> I'm struggling to understand how a summer before school spent on Khan Academy preparing you for "everything you missed" is somehow not possible for 1/5 kids to accomplish?
Some portion of these students will have passed their high school math classes and be unaware that they needed to prepare.
Some portion will not prepare even if they know they need to.
Some will not be well suited to self directed programs such as Khan Academy.
I took a quick look and saw that at least UCLA requires a math placement test or a high enough score on the AP calc exam in order to enroll in precalc or higher; perhaps the placement test needs work to better select classes for students.
But how is this different from students in 2007, who had no access to Khan Academy, and were also unaware they needed to prepare?
That also did not prepare even though they were aware?
That never even had access to self directed programs like Khan Academy?
I got to see the SAT go from 1600 to 2400 back to 1600 and now it's not required? It has to be something fundamental given it's a recurring nationwide pattern.
What's different now is 6 years ago these students had a major loss of continuity in instruction. Most schools talk about accomodating the skill gaps that came from that, but most of the accomodation is giving passing grades regardless of student understanding. I'm not sure if it's statistically significant, but in my circle, a lot of families made a significant move during or after covid, and moving to a new school system can also be disruptive.
Schools tend to be really bad at assessing individual students and tailoring instruction to what each student needs, even though they've been talking it up for a long time.
Mirror without Google logon: https://archive.is/OiezX
Doesn't help they are in their late teens, early 20s and excepted to forego the screaming of their hormones to become a good worker drone for the same plutocrats filling them with media about wild college tours of bacchanalia while luring them to burden themselves with debt enough the poor earnest slobs will try to pay back so they enter the workforce and contribute to making those plutocrats wealthy while being too dull or domain specific to replace those plutocrats.
Yeah its freedom alright, freedom to chose coke or pepsi to swallow your pills then you better get back to work, otherwise you could be like that homeless man you stepped over coming in.
CA keeps leading the way in all kinds of good categories. Keep it up.
Isn't more important that the classroom is an accurate representation of the various groups applicants fall into? If 15% of the population identifies as a box of rocks, it's important that their diverse ideas are included. We're stronger with more diverse viewpoints..
The self-identified boxes of rocks on this site feel awfully triggered by your microagression.