Regard or consider?

Question

Question 27 from the SAT Practice Test 3 – Writing and Language Test – from McGraw-Hill Education Eight SAT Practice Tests by Christopher Black and Mark Anestis, 2020 Edition.

*We don’t regard our most popular athletes as immortal any more, yet sports idolatry certainly doesn’t seem to have diminished much since ancient times.

A) NO CHANGE

B) regard our most popular athletes to be

C) consider our most popular athletes as

D) consider that our most popular athletes are*

The answer key states that the correct answer to the question is option A. Here is the explanation from the answer key: «The proper idioms are regard as and consider to be. The only choice that is idiomatically correct is choice (A).»

Similarly, according to Cambridge Dictionary, “consider” does not collocate with the preposition “as.” https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/consider-or-regard

However, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, 9th edition, both “regard” and “consider” can collocate with the preposition “as.”

Consider – verb. 2. [transitive] to think of somebody/something in a particular way consider somebody/something as something You should consider this as a long-term investment.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/consider?q=consider

Regard – verb. 1. [often passive] to think about somebody/something in a particular way regard somebody/something/yourself as something He regards himself as a patriot. Capital punishment was regarded as inhuman and immoral. She is widely regarded as the current leader's natural successor.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/regard_1?q=regard

Considering all the information above, I cannot be sure that there is only one correct answer in the question above.

Does anyone have a more comprehensive explanation?

Answer 1

"Consider as", in this sense, is considered redundant.

American Heritage Dictionary consider

2. To think or deem to be; regard as: considered his friend a liberal on most issues; considered her contribution essential. See Usage Note at as 1.

This is the relevant part of the usage note referred to above:
American Heritage Dictionary as

As is sometimes used after verbs like consider, deem, and account, as in
The paintings are considered as masterpieces in their home country. The measure was deemed as unnecessary.
This usage may have arisen by analogy to the long-established use of as after regard and esteem in standard contexts:
We regarded her as the best writer among us.
In our 2009 survey, however, more than 80 percent of the Usage Panel rejected sentences in which as followed consider in this way, including the sentence just quoted. These constructions bear the stigma of redundancy and should be avoided in careful writing.

[emphasis and formatting added]

Now, take the example from Oxford Learner's Dictionary,

You should consider this as a long-term investment.

That sentence combines two meanings, this should be seen as a long-term investment , and you should consider this, meaning that you may want to buy it. It is not an example of consider as meaning the same as regard as.

The equivalent of
You should regard this as a long-term investment.
is
You should consider this a long-term investment.

Note that there is no as in that expression.

Going back to the exam question you started with, regard as immortal is correct. It would be the equivalent of consider immortal, but that use without "as" doesn't appear in any of the other answers, so the SAT practice test answer is correct.