The December 2025 SAT contained several challenging questions. The most disputed vocabulary in context question asked students to read a passage about oil shocks and then decide if the abrupt rise in prices had a DETRIMENTAL or NOMINAL economic impact.
It is easy to see why the question perplexed so many students. DETRIMENTAL or harmful is a very tempting answer. Afterall, a sudden increase in oil prices would logically have a DETRIMENTAL impact on a nation’s economy.
However, a close reading of the question reveals that NOMINAL or very small is actually the best answer: Here’s why: The passage begins with an opening concession that “oil shocks can strongly affect individual consumers.” After citing research by a noted economist, the passage then makes a key counterclaim asserting that the effects of oil shocks on the German economy was “merely _______.”
Merely is the key word. It means very small or just barely. Note that is illogical to place merely in front of the strong negative word DETRIMENTAL. But it is possible for an oil shock to be merely NOMINAL or have a small impact. In fact, the passage concludes by stating that the change in Germany’s gross national product “was only slightly greater than zero.” This clearly supports NOMINAL as the most logical and precise answer.
NOMINAL – very small; a token amount
DETRIMENTAL – very harmful
IMPORTANT UPDATE!
I originally posted the NOMINAL or DETRIMENTAL discussion back in January 2026. In fact, it was my seventh Substack post. It illustrates my strategy of providing students with REAL words and REAL examples.
The nominal question appeared on the December 2025 SAT. The College Board recycled it on today’s August 22, 2026 US test. So, students who are using my Substack platform could have easily answered this question.
The question included three incorrect distracters – DETRIMENTAL, DERIVATIVE, and IDIOSYNCRATIC. I have repeatedly warned my students that IDIOSYNCRATIC has yet to appear as a confirmed correct answer. In fact, I placed it at the top of my WRONG answer list!
I’m very pleased to report that my Substack platform produced a number of Direct Hits on both the August 22, 2026 International and US tests. I’ll file a full report in the coming days. So stay tuned!!