to the editor: Columnist Anita Chabria denounces recent exhortations by UC professors to reinstate standardized testing as out of touch with “reality” and “common sense” because they are insensitive to the diverse backgrounds and aspirations of California students (“UC could go back to using the SAT and ACT for admissions. Here's why that doesn't add up.” July 8). The reality is that California's public higher education system already accommodates that diversity through CSUs and community colleges.
UCs are supposed to be public equivalents of elite private research institutions with selective admissions. The fixation on UC embodies the elitism that Chabria supposedly deplores: he wants academic prestige without the required academic excellence.
She rightly demands that high schools provide students with equal opportunities to achieve that excellence. And yes, the SAT and ACT have flaws. Chabria, however, is wrong to assume that partial taxpayer funding of UCs entitles taxpayers' children to virtually guaranteed admission. These are public universities; They serve the interests not of private families, but of the public as a whole.
We pay taxes for UC to exist to offer an outstanding education to anyone, which they cannot do if they must accept everyone.
Peter Thomas, Los Angeles
