> However that was not the popular narrative. I'd be interested to see if that was the reason given and how often

"For nearly four years Yale’s undergraduate admissions process has been test-optional. The experience, originally necessitated by the pandemic..." https://admissions.yale.edu/test-flexible

"I am writing to announce that, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our office will be suspending our usual SAT/ACT testing requirement for the coming application cycle." https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-are-suspending-our-...

"When Dartmouth suspended its standardized testing requirement for undergraduate applicants in June 2020, it was a pragmatic pause taken by most colleges and universities in response to an unprecedented global pandemic." https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/apply/update-testing-policy

I thought the popular narrative was that this was primarily driven by the pandemic? The debate about the value of standardized test scores has been raging for decades and up until the pandemic most elite colleges and universities still required them. (Upon reflection, there was a prior movement at some schools to boost declining enrollment by making tests optional, but that seemed more driven by profit-seeking than morality.)

The primary explanation I have heard both in the news and from friends in admissions departments for so many elite schools going test-optional at the same time was for the pandemic, and most of the ones I am aware of explicitly called it a temporary measure as Yale did.

Now I could buy that the testing debate may have played a role in why some schools have been dragging their feet to return to requiring tests post-pandemic because anti-test folks are exploiting this opportunity. But having worked in academia I also would not discount the immense inertia in university admissions playing an equally large role.