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?