A coalition that includes students, the Compton Unified School District and other organizations sent a letter to the UC Regents demanding they remove the requirement for prospective students, or the coalition would file a lawsuit.
The letter argues that the tests favor wealthy, white students at the expense of less affluent black and Hispanic students.
The use of the tests is already under scrutiny because of the college admissions scandal in which parents sometimes paid to have their children's test scores inflated.
Micah Ali, president of Compton Unified School District, said, "We're talking about a level playing field. The affluent child - their parents may have enough money to purchase tutorial services. But in many communities throughout California, people are struggling just for their daily bread. And they're without $5,000 or $10,000 for a private tutor."
A spokesperson for ACT released a statement saying, "We work diligently to make sure the test questions are not biased against any group of students and are fair to all who take the test. ACT test results reflect inequities in access and quality of education, shining a light on where they exist."