> I view "test optional" as a signaling exercise. In brief, how closely can you read the instructions and infer what you are not being told?

Sorry, what does that mean - who is the "you" in that sentence, and what are they inferring?

It sounds like what you mean is that that your school went test optional (ostensibly to help level the playing field), but those who are lucky or privileged enough to have the secret decoder ring can decipher the instructions and find the key to optimizing their chances of admission. If so (as someone who grew up with immigrant parents who were educated but definitely would not have had the awareness to navigate this), that seems really fucked up...