One of my kids had a SAT1 score of under 1000. That score was in the lower 25% of the test scores that most all of his colleges reported for their students. However a number of the schools he picked were FairTest schools which are test optional. He simply did not report the SAT or ACT. Yes, it was a very good thing for a student like him.
Now, had he gotten over a 1500 for that test score, maybe even 1400, it would have been to his advantage to have reported the score. When one starts getting closer to the average range of the scores, it becomes less obvious whether to report or not. It then becomes a tricky judgement call. In such cases, I’d pair up like schools and report the score to one and not the other. Say, Amherst and Williams—very like schools. Report the scores to Amherst and not to Williams. Work the list that way