Teacher recommendations

Sorry for the dumb questions but:

Don't we have to use the common application form recommendation letter already established (and found on the common application website) when we request teacher recommendations? This form has all those boxes with 'average' and 'above average', etc. for the many personal charactgerists of the applicant, so it would seem to me that this would be the desired format of the recommendations from teachers.

Plesse let me know soon as we have to request the recommendations.

SAT IIs

I'm uncertain about the SAT IIs and their role in admissions.

When I searched for info on the SAT IIs, this came up:
"How much does not taking an SAT II hurt an applicant's chance of acceptance?"

Answer from Dean J. "SAT IIs can't hurt an application...they aren't a required part of the application."

I didn't note the date on this question and answer.

Is this still the current thinking? My son is trying to decide whether to re-take the SAT 1 reasoning test or else re-take one subject test taken in October that he thinks he didn't score too well in.

Dean J, could you humor me here, and state one more time the position on SAT II tests? They are highly recommended, and would one low score (in the high 500s) on an SAT II test be enough to deny admission, all other things being acceptable? This is an in-state student. Would you recommend retaking an SAT 1 reasoining test with previous score above 2000 instead of retaking that one SAT II test?