There’s always a lot of folks saying that the tests are optional. But if a student has strong scores there is zero-reason not to submit. My kids high school has asked students to be kind and allow Seniors to test first so they can get the slots in the Fall.
I think schools will be more lenient this year. But a kid with a super high SAT and GPA from a small school is going to do far better-submitting scores. If a kid comes from a large school and has a high-class ranking that might replace the need for the scores a little bit. Many schools don’t do rankings so kids need the stats to prove they can manage a top school.
For example, Joe Smo from a small private high school X, has a 1550 and 4.0 GPA from with 100 kids in a grade. Take away that 1550, and Joe Smo is one of hundreds of thousands of kids (many coming from schools with huge grade inflation). He isn’t going to stand out at all. And if his school doesn’t rank, he is actually at a disadvantage against the kid from a school with 1,000 kids per grade. (Let’s say that kid from the large school got a 1400).
There are lots of people who want to throw out standardized test scores. Very few of them are national merit level or in the top 2%. For these kids, they know it is a way to stand out in a competitive field.