Berkeley professor admits AI help in op-ed on student math skills

A UC Berkeley mathematics professor's opinion piece arguing that the University of California's test-blind admissions policy is resulting in underprepared students sparked significant debate last week, which was then complicated by the revelation that the article was created with assistance from artificial intelligence. The op-ed, published August 15, 2026, in the San Francisco Standard, contended that removing standardized test requirements has hollowed out the quality of incoming students, particularly in STEM fields.

Professor Zvezdelina Stankova wrote that she routinely teaches students in introductory calculus who lack proficiency in basic algebra and fractions. She supported this claim with data from her own classroom diagnostics, stating that before the pandemic and the subsequent shift to test-blind admissions, about 71% of her Calculus I students were ready or nearly ready for the course. By 2023, after the policy was implemented, she reported that figure had fallen to 26%, with the most common score being zero. Stankova also pointed to broader admissions disparities and noted that a large percentage of students admitted to a top UC engineering program appeared to have...