Luckily many people would have met the requirement.
My son would have met this in about three different ways.
But having said that, people with kids who haven’t really should consider because that test isn’t the easiest and if you don’t score high enough the remedial classes are equally tough.
The college writing class is not considered a remedial class. It is simply a college writing class, available for those who don’t test out of it - either because they choose not to take the relevant tests or because they do not receive a high enough score. Even in those cases where their score didn’t reach the threshold to test out, it is not considered “remedial” -it is simply level-appropriate for incoming students to hone the skills necessary for college-level writing. An excellent skill to develop for a college student.
My D22 tested out of the course, and I kind of wish she hadn’t. The courses that satisfied it looked really interesting (here are the Fall 2023 COLWRIT R1A courses), and were only open to students who hadn’t tested out. (Plus, I think extra guidance on writing at the collegiate level is rarely a bad thing.) So if any of you (or your kids) end up needing to take one of the courses come fall, it’s not the worst thing in the world.
I actually feel similarly! The only downside is that they are 6 credit classes so they do take up a good chunk of your schedule, but I have heard they can be well-worth the time and very valuable - small classes with a lot of individualized feedback and instruction and in-depth discussions and workshopping. I personally consider writing probably the single most valuable skill to develop as a college freshman and frankly many (if not most) students who test out really aren’t as proficient in writing as they could be.
No actual experience at UCB, but back when I was at UCLA, it was called Subject A exam. People who didn’t test out had to take the class below Freshman comp and that class was very hard. Where as Freshman Comp was “level appropriate”, the class you had to take for not meeting subject A was remedial.
Don’t know anything about UCLA, but at UC Berkeley, none of these classes are considered remedial. They are just different pathways to meeting requirements based on whether or not you have certain test scores. You either take College Writing, which is a 6 credit course that satisfies the college writing requirement plus the first half of reading and composition, then you proceed to the second half of reading an composition in a subsequent semester. Or you test out of college writing and take a 4 credit reading and composition part A class followed by a reading and composition part B class. Or, with the right test scores, you can test out of all of these requirements. But none of these pathways is “remedial” - they are all focused on honing the writing skills needed to be successful in college, which is appropriate for college freshman and sophomores.
We must have different definition for remedial.
English R1A is the standard 4 unit Freshman composition with a requisite which is to satisfy the ELWR.
You are right that COLWRIT R1A is 6 unit college writing plus composition for people who didn’t test out of ELWR. The extra 2 units for the class, is in my mind “Remedial.”
That is not how it is classified by UC Berkeley, however. I mean, you can consider anything to be anything, but that doesn’t change its actual classification. It is simply a requirement that must be met - either through test scores or by taking a class.
Back in the day, Subject A was at all UCs. I took it. We used to call it “Dumbbell English.” 
Now, at least at Cal, there is Reading and Composition A and Reading and Composition B (and then there is the college writing class that includes the college writing requirement together with Reading and Composition A). Fortunately, I have never heard any of these referred to as dumbbell English…But having previously taught both R&C A and R&C B, I can say that many, if not most, college students really do need more writing practice. And many, if not most, don’t even realize it.
Oh I’m not talking about now. I’m talking about in the dark ages. It was a term of affection. Those of us who took it knew that we were horrible writers.
ETA, here is a little background about Subject A.
https://writing.berkeley.edu/news/folly-weakening-analytical-writing-placement-examination-and-promoting-directed-self-placement
Besides Subject A, if English was not your first language, there was also an ESL Placement Test, which was onerous in itself.
That’s what I thought, because my brother who was graduating from Cal was the first person to warn me about the test and consequences for not passing it.
Trying to understand what decisions are being made early.
Is this similar to USC’s EA deadline when scholarship candidates were admitted in a first wave, only without an official acknowledgement from Cal Admissions?
Mostly they are candidates for the Regents Scholarship (because they must go through an interview process prior to the regular admissions date in late March), but sometimes also MET (although not last year apparently), GMP, Sciences Po maybe? It’s a small number of special scholarships and programs.
Any portal astrology yet?
did everyone receive the ELWR email? my daughter didn’t which make me a little bit worried.
check the spam folder
One in reddit said that candidates for regents don’t get these email.
i did. more than once.