A report released Friday provided an answer in kind to a report
that sparked the controversy over UC Berkeley’s admissions
process. The new report emphasized the importance of comprehensive
review and stated findings that Berkeley students with low SAT
scores were generally successful in school.
The University of California Coalition Report was published in
response to a report commissioned by UC Regent John Moores. The
Coalition Report, titled “Facts and Fantasies about UC
Berkeley Admissions: A Critical Evaluation of Regent John
Moores’ Report,” listed a number of signatures of
supporters ““Â including the UC Student Association, the
UC’s chief student lobbying organization.
“It’s a good report and (it is) good that it came
out when it did,” said Matt Kaczmarek, the chairman of UCSA.
“It is an important opportunity to articulate why
comprehensive review is so important instead of simply looking at
SAT scores.”
The authors of the report approached UCSA for its support
because they had heard about UCSA’s work in advocating
comprehensive review.
Comprehensive review is a UC-wide admissions policy that gives
additional weight to factors other than applicants’ test
scores and grades.
Berkeley professors and other student organizations were also
among the signers of the report.
According to the Moores report, 374 students accepted to
Berkeley had received scores below 1000 on their
SAT I, while 3,218 applicants with scores over 1400 were denied.
Moores has suggested that the selection process at Berkeley was not
objective.
Another signer of the Coalition Report was the National Center
for Fair and Open Testing. Bob Schaeffer, the director of public
education and member of FairTest, said he was pleased with the
report and the amount of support it drew.
“We were pleasantly surprised and gratified by the number
and breadth of signers,” he said. “We welcome the
support of (UCSA) or any other campus student
organizations.”
One of the primary drafters of the Coalition Report was William
Kidder, a member of the Equal Justice Society.
The report “found low-scoring students who have gone to
UCB and other elite universities and have done very well,”
negating Moores’ claim that students with lower scores did
not belong in prestigious universities such as Berkeley, Kidder
said.
“We concluded that Regent Moores’ comment had no
foundation,” he added.
Kaczmarek emphasized the report’s role in informing the
public.
“It’s important to see the holistic view of the data
instead of the one-sided view presented by Moores,” Kaczmarek
said, noting that the SAT is only one determining factor “in
the comprehensive review process” and does not necessarily
predetermine future success.
With reports from Nancy Su, Daily Bruin
contributor.