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NYT op-ed’s wildly woke argument against SATs includes shocking admission that students struggle with ‘basic math’

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Nesi, C. (2026, September 17). NYT op-ed’s wildly woke argument against SATs includes shocking admission that students struggle with ‘basic math’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/17/us-news/nyt-op-eds-wildly-woke-argument-against-sats-includes-shocking-admission/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-17 · by Chris Nesi

Quick Summary

In a New York Times op-ed, Miriam Pawl argues that eliminating standardized tests like the SAT at the University of California has made admissions more inclusive without sacrificing academic excellence, despite some students struggling with basic math. She cites statistics showing increased diversity and graduation rates among first-generation and low-income students. However, critics point out declining student proficiency levels in subjects like mathematics, with over 680 professors urging a return to test requirements due to the need to reteach middle school-level material in college courses.
Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Miriam Pawel, in her book "California Dream: The Making and Remaking of the University of California," argues against reinstating SAT requirements for admissions at the University of California (UC) system. Despite acknowledging that many students struggle with "basic math," she highlights the UC's commitment to increasing access without compromising excellence. She notes that around 40% of UC students are first-generation college attendees, and more than half qualify for free tuition. Pawel cites data showing a significant increase in applications from high-achieving Black and Latino students at UCLA after SAT requirements were eliminated in 2021. Additionally, she attributes part of the progress to initiatives like the California Dream Act, which provides financial aid and in-state tuition rates for undocumented students.

Written for “SAT Controversy” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 SAT Controversy
Education · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 16% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Reason
Hedges 7 of 30 claims Outlet record 67/100
“Article A discusses the New York Board of Regents voting to make standardized exams optional, while Article B comments on an op-ed in The New York Times about admissions tests at UC campuses.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 3 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different incidents involving separate New York Times writers and their views on education, one regarding SATs and admissions tests at UC campuses and another about sending a child to struggling NYC schools.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 1 of 37 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different perspectives on test-optional admissions at University of California but describe distinct events and outcomes.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
16%
3 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Education
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16017 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Chris Nesi
33 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Chris Nesi
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 33 articles by Chris Nesi →

Topics

New York Times UC Berkeley UCLA University of California the University of California

Subjects

UCLA ORG · 3× the University of California ORG · 3× New York Times GPE · 2× Pawal PERSON · 2× UC Berkeley ORG · 2× University of California ORG · 2× Latino NORP · 1× Miriam Pawal PERSON · 1× The University of California Board of Regents ORG · 1× UCs ORG · 1×

Narrative

Pawal has been doing the rounds promoting her new book, “California Dream: The Making and Remaking of the University of California” — which cases the nation’s largest and most prestigious public university system as first and foremost “an engine of upward mobility.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 “Students on University of California campuses may struggle with basic math, but they are graduating at record rates,” she wrote, hailing the “exceptional” university system for its “commitment to increase access without sacrificing excellence.”

Claims (19 extracted, 3 hedged)

A New York Times writer came out swinging against the push to bring back admissions tests at the University of California — even as she admitted that students are struggling with “basic math.” asserted
students → come → math
But all of that is worth it, Miriam Pawal argued, because the university is now more inclusive. asserted
university → argue → that
“Students on University of California campuses may struggle with basic math, but they are graduating at record rates,” she wrote, hailing the “exceptional” university system for its “commitment to increase access without sacrificing excellence.” uncertain
she → struggle → excellence
She buttressed her point with statistics about how around 40% of its students are the first in their families to attend college. asserted
% → buttress → college
“More than half qualify for free tuition,” she gushed. asserted
she → qualify → tuition
“When the University of California eliminated the SAT requirement for admission in 2021, UCLA saw a significant jump in applications from high-achieving black and Latino students, for whom the standardized tests had been a barrier,” she said. asserted
she → eliminate → whom
“The percentages of underrepresented students have crept up, through a variety of initiatives. asserted
percentages → creep → initiatives
The California Dream Act gave undocumented students access to financial aid, as well as in-state tuition.” asserted
Act → give → state
Pawal has been doing the rounds promoting her new book, “California Dream: The Making and Remaking of the University of California” — which cases the nation’s largest and most prestigious public university system as first and foremost “an engine of upward mobility.” asserted
which → do → mobility
“The problem is that the UCs did sacrifice excellence to increase access,” one commenter said. “ asserted
commenter → sacrifice → access
As a UCLA and UC Berkeley alum, I am deeply concerned that the UC’s current admissions criteria are incompatible with maintaining the standards of excellence and ultimately the reputations of UCLA and UC Berkeley relative to other top 20 universities,” another said. asserted
another → maintain → universities
The University of California Board of Regents voted in 2020 to stop considering SAT and ACT scores in admissions after lawyers representing low-income students argued the exams were “racist.” asserted
exams → vote → students
But now student standards are falling, and professors are revolting over students who haven’t even mastered high school math or can can barely read a sentence. asserted
who → fall → sentence
Some students arrive at UC campuses — which are continually ranked among the best in the nation — “five to eight years behind” in math, according to the profs. uncertain
which → arrive → profs
More than 680 professors across the University of California system signed an open letter in May urging the tests be reinstated, saying they’ve had to water down curricula to the point they’ve been forced to teach “middle school” math in Calculus and other courses. “We now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must re-teach middle school mathematics while simultaneously teaching the material students need for sciences, engineering, economics and other quantitatively demanding fields,” the letter read. uncertain
letter → sign → sciences
“Furthermore, the widening spread between underprepared and well-prepared students creates polarized courses, weakening the foundation available to many students and making it harder to teach at the level required for advanced STEM work,” the professors continued. asserted
professors → widen → work
But Pawal brushed off the teachers’ concerns in her missive, arguing the real issue at hand is getting students through the door and putting diplomas in hands, whether they can do math or not. asserted
they → brush → math
“The University of California needs to redouble its commitment to forge its own path, to remain a beacon of hope, albeit flickering,” she wrote. asserted
she → need → hope
“Now is not the moment to regress.” asserted
moment → regress → ?
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