Action delayed on SAT subject exams

Brown insisted that the plan was "not dumbing down standards, it is raising them." He also said the proposal was not an attempt to get around Proposition 209, which forbids consideration of race in the state's public university admissions. "There is nothing in the proposal that mandates or even suggests the university use race or sex in the selection process," he said. "But the university continues to have a mandate to fairly and appropriately represent the citizens of the state of California."

An earlier version of the proposal would have eliminated some admissions guarantees to eligible students, but that idea was killed by faculty leaders who said they feared a political firestorm could result.

Students had a mixed view of dropping the subject exams.

Mia Jessup, who will be a freshman at Dartmouth College in the fall, applied to 16 colleges, most of which required two subject tests. She said it was unfair that her class had to take the subject tests for UC, but suggested that eliminating them might help future applicants.

"Perhaps it will lessen the load and could make them do better on the SAT or ACT as opposed to the smaller tests," said Jessup, a graduate of San Clemente High School.

Amanda Rosenthal, 17, of Pacific Palisades said she thought the subject tests were a fairer way of comparing students than the main SAT exam.

The subject test "reflects all the knowledge accumulated throughout the year, rather than a student's test-taking ability," said Rosenthal, who will be a senior at the Marlborough School this fall and has taken three subject tests.

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larry.gordon@latimes.com

Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.