EconNerds: The 1985 & 2026 SAT: They’re Not The Same Test
Econ Nerds is a digital media channel of the Mercatus Center, focused on illuminating the economics in the world around us through fun, contemporary media.
I took the SAT in my 40s, I went to a high school and sat with all the nervous kids and took the thing. Why? Because everyone says the test is broken, biased, buyable, and easier than ever. As an economist, I wanted to know if that's true. So I ran my own experiment. I took the 2026 digital SAT at a real testing center, took the 1985 version at home, and roped two current students into doing the same. The results surprised us all. Also in this video: the strange origins of the SAT (thanks, Manhattan Project guy), whether it's an IQ test, why the $500 million test prep industry might be selling statistical noise, the problem with almost all SAT research, and the results of the massive natural experiment when colleges went test-optional during the pandemic.
NODEHAUS handled the post-production for this piece — from ingesting, editing, motion-graphics animation, sound and color.
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Client: EconNerds, Mercatus Center
Production Co: NODEHAUS
Writer & Host: Matt Hill
Producer, Editing Manager: Roman Hardgrave
Editor: Triston Centretto
Graphics: Triston Centretto, Brandon McDowell
