> Many universities have made standardized admissions tests optional amid criticism that they favor the wealthy and put low-income students at a disadvantage. Some including the University of California system do not consider ACT or SAT scores even if submitted.
Anecdotally, I've talked to a few parents of HS students who saw these headlines and believed that standardized testing was no longer relevant. I'm not sure how many universities do or do not consider the ACT, but I suspect the downplaying has reduced people's urgency to prepare for it.
Now for purely anecdote-based speculation: I've seen a strange social-media fueled malaise overtake the high school aged kids I've worked with. Teenagers are naturally going through ups and downs, but there's something weird about social media that lets them find content to fuel their cynicism and disdain for society.
I'm not talking about the likes of Instagram, but rather the teenagers doomscrolling Reddit or TikToks about how society is crumbling, the world is ending, and there's no point to trying because "the American Dream is dead". Weirdly, this mentality was rampant among the computer science students I talked to, who were seemingly unaware that they were on track to earn a decent living with one of the most comfortable careers around. Shaking them of this belief felt like an impossible task when they were just going to go back to their homes and doomscroll Reddit for hours every day. I have no doubt this doomerism is playing into a decreased motivation to study and prepare for anything among a large subset of students.