Berkeley professor criticizes admissions after student math decline
Zvezdelina Stankova, a UC Berkeley mathematics professor, wrote an op-ed saying large portions of current students cannot handle college calculus and that she must teach middle-school algebra and fractions during office hours. She cites diagnostic exam data showing 71% of students were ready or nearly ready for calculus before 2020 versus 44% between 2021 and 2023, and reports that by 2022–23 more than one-third had severe math deficits with zero the most common score. Stankova attributes the decline to UC's removal of standardized testing and warns of two-tier classrooms and strained teaching resources.
A large share of Berkeley calculus students lack college-level math.
Context
The university made standardized testing optional in 2020 and later became test-blind…
The full analysis
19 dimensions on this story — world impact, market read, and what happens next.
- Full ContextLocked
- Affected SectorsLocked
- Stock ImpactLocked
- Economic IndicatorDecline in college-entry quantitative…Locked
- Investor RelevanceLocked
- Professional RelevanceLocked
- Watch PointsAny UC system announcement or Regents…Locked
- Probability of ChangeLocked
- Debate PointsRemoval of standardized testing and its…Locked
- Historical ParallelPandemic-era test suspensions at elite…Locked
- Follow-up QuestionsWill the University of California…Locked
- Pros & ConsFaculty: reinstating standardized tests…Locked
Free account — 3 full analyses a day, no card.