很多的學校在這兩年疫情期間宣布SAT/ACT/GRE/GMAT 等標化考試為optional， 有的設置去掉了遞交成績入口，意味著是完全不需要的。學校的解釋一般是疫情，考生考試比較不方便。但也有學校是宣布比如SAT/ACT是永久的不要求了，而給出的理由是這些考試反應出來的更多是階級的差異，比如家境好的，一般考試考的好，因為有足夠多的資源去考高分。

以上觀點的來源

While the College Board continued to look for ways to make the SAT more equitable. Some colleges came up with a solution of their own, not requiring the SAT in the first place. That's after the break. The idea to make tests like the SAT optional has been quietly gaining momentum for decades.

So there's been a movement that's been going on for 40 years, and that has been schools are moving test optional.

出處 WSJ: Is This the End of the SAT? FEBRUARY 1, 2022

關于第二個理由，確實標化考試背后有比較嚴重的階級差異，但是申請里面的其他的類別，特別是課外的活動背后的階級差異是更為嚴重的。所以這個理由是不完全成立的，只能說社會的矛頭在這個考試上，而對于學校來說去掉考試要求，相比于去掉其他的要求是公關起來更為容易的。

另外讓考試為optional 對于學校的ranking 其實影響也不大。下面是US News 的college 排名標準

highlight 部分可以看到成績的占比是整體的5%，哪怕是和新生有關的全部項目的影響加起來也只是7%，不算是一個很影響排名的因素。當然我們也可以認為對于頂尖學校來說，5%的權重也是要好好把握的。那么我們來看下這個權重分是怎么可以拿到的？對于名校來說，考試optional 對于ta們的排名有沒有影響？

Schools were instructed to report scores for all exams they had on record, including in cases when an exam was not used in the admissions decision. Schools that excluded groups of students in their reporting – such as student athletes and international students – had their test scores discounted in the calculations by 15%. Separately, in a change due to the disruption of SAT and ACT test taking and the college admission process caused by the coronavirus, schools reporting a total count of SAT and ACT submissions less than 50% of their fall 2020 entering classes had their test scores discounted by 15% in the rankings calculations. This is a change from previous years, which were based on a 75% submission rate of fall entering students before the ACT and SAT scores were discounted by 15% in the rankings.

出自 US News 官網 A More Detailed Look at the Ranking Factors 

之前是學校遞交的數據如果沒有達到75%以上的新生有SAT/ACT 成績，在這個項目上就會懲罰性的discount 15%，因為疫情，目前只要50% 的新生有遞交成績就好。所以對于要拿到這個5%權重分數的名校來說，只要有一半的同學有高分的SAT/ACT 就夠了。而對于這些學校來說，錄取的學生里有50%的同學還有標化考試成績是比較容易實現的；

至于那些直接沒有給成績遞交入口的學校，你可以理解為，ta們可能不覺得這個5%的權重對于ta們的排名有什么影響。

綜上可以看出，考試成績optional，對于學校來說不存在太明顯的犧牲。