Lemann studied the American obsession with standardized testing for five years. His book The Big Test-The Secret History of the American Meritocracy (1999), examines how, after World War II, the SAT test became the ticket for entry into America's ruling class.

Try some of the test questions given in college entrance exams of 1901, 1926 and 1999.

Their vision made it possible for the first time to test the entire country.