Indeed, HK. I'm familiar with the writing placement exam for the UC system, since my local UC administered their test to all AP English students in their junior year of high school, as a practice. So I looked it up and saw that, yes, that's still a thing, though it's waived if you get a high enough score on the right sections of the SAT or ACT, or a passing grade on the AP English test.

Whether you take the UC test or not, you're still being assessed.