Gov. Gavin Newsom refused to take a position on a raging debate over standardized testing in University of California admissions — dismissing as “anecdotes” the alarming reports from professors of college students who can’t do basic math.
The governor was asked at a Wednesday press conference in Hayward about an open letter from more than 1,200 UC professors, including Nobel prize winners and leading scientists, who warned of a “severe” crisis of incoming freshman who are unable to even do fractions, forcing educators to dumb down Calculus and other advanced courses.
“Show me the data,” Newsom said.
“I have feelings about this, there’s anecdotes about this, but I want to see the data,” he said.
The UC San Diego Senate-Administration Working Group last year found a shocking 30-fold increase in college students who lacked basic math skills.
In 2020, only 30 incoming freshmen at the school had math skills below high school level. In 2025, that number rose to 900, according to the UC San Diego panel.
Professors have blamed the elimination of SAT and ACT testing in 2020 as a requirement for university admissions, as critics argue the tweak has merely rewarded rampant grade inflation.
“Some students are five to eight years behind in mathematics. Office hours that should be spent discussing integrals instead become lessons on fractions and basic algebra you would expect students to learn in middle school,” wrote Zvezdelina Stankova, a math professor at UC Berkeley, in an op-ed piece for the San Francisco Standard.
The University of California Board of Regents is expected to take up the issue next year.
“There are some different options for testing if they choose to bring it back, and [University of California Regents] are looking at that now,” added Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the California Board of Education.
The governor made the comments at Schafer Park Elementary School, where he highlighted the state’s “jaw-dropping” investments in childhood education.
Newsom and wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom touted an expansion in “community schools” that can include everything from healthy food provided for free to laundry and eye care services to families.
California has ratcheted up its per-pupil spending to more than $28,000 annually, including a 43% increase in special education spending to a staggering $2.4 billion in this year’s state budget.
The governor’s office claims its universal transitional kindergarten program, first rolled out in the 2022-2023 school year, has saved families $14,000 per year.
Less than half of California students are “proficient” or “advanced” in math and reading, according to state data.
Just 37% of students passed muster in math in 2025, compared to 48% in reading.
Newsom said he was “confident” that this year’s results, set to be released in October, would show an improvement.
