A mathematics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has raised fresh concerns about the academic preparedness of students at one of the US’ most selective public universities, saying some calculus students now arrive with gaps that extend well below college-level mathematics.In an opinion piece published by the San Francisco Standard, UC Berkeley mathematics professor Zvezdelina Stankova said she has increasingly found herself using class and office-hour time to revisit concepts students are expected to have mastered years earlier. The New York Post, reporting on Stankova’s comments, highlighted the severity of the problem, including her claim that some students are struggling with fractions and basic algebra.
‘Five to eight years behind’ in mathematics
“Some students are five to eight years behind in mathematics,” Stankova wrote, according to the New York Post.She said office hours that would normally focus on topics such as integrals can instead turn into lessons covering fractions and elementary algebra.Stankova, who earned her PhD from Harvard after growing up in communist Bulgaria, has spent years working to promote mathematics education. She founded the Berkeley Math Circle and has been involved in mathematics competitions for school students.Her criticism, however, is not simply about individual students. She has questioned whether changes in the university admissions process have contributed to a widening gap in academic preparation.
Calculus readiness falls after testing changes
Stankova pointed to diagnostic testing given to students entering Calculus I as evidence of a significant shift.According to figures cited in her article, 71% of students assessed before 2020 were considered “ready or nearly ready” for calculus. Between 2018 and 2020, only 0.14% of those tested were found to be below basic algebra level.The picture changed after the pandemic-era disruption and the suspension of standardized testing requirements.Between 2021 and 2023, the share deemed “ready or nearly ready” for calculus fell to 44%. By the 2022-23 academic year, more than one-third of calculus students were described as having severe mathematics deficits, with zero reportedly the most common score on the diagnostic assessment.
Debate over standardized tests
UC Berkeley phased out standardized testing in admissions during the pandemic, citing concerns including disruption and equity. The university subsequently remained test-blind through 2025 following legal action.Stankova argues that the policy has contributed to classrooms becoming increasingly divided between students who are ready for advanced mathematics and those requiring substantial remedial instruction.Berkeley remains highly selective, with an acceptance rate of about 10.5%, according to the figures cited in the New York Post report.
Berkeley has ‘moved in the opposite direction’
Several other elite US universities, including Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale, also suspended testing requirements during the pandemic but have since reinstated them.Stankova noted that UC Berkeley has “moved in the opposite direction”, with a new admissions policy not expected to take effect until fall 2028.“Students don’t have that kind of time: They attend college once,” she wrote.The university had not immediately responded to the New York Post’s request for comment at the time of its report.
