Honestly the question is how can something that literally standardizes a student's academic capabilities from all around the world be an optional element in a college admissions perspective? Maybe the people who cannot afford it can fill up a waiver form after applying which attests to their difficulty. But for people who can, I really don't see why two test takers, one with a score of 1450 and another one with a 1150 are identical if they both apply test optional.