I lived in a wealthy suburb. No one took the SAT twice. It was always one and done. Most went to public universities in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. There were a smattering of kids who went to college on the east coast. I personally knew no one who went to college in CA. So…no one took the ACT at all.
My school had sometimes up to 20 NMS winners…back when that actually netted you some $$. My class had 1100 students in it.
It was called the NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) back in the Stone Age.