#14 - For one academic year all the students at a high

[JotaDay]

I'm still having a tough time giving up on E because to resolve the paradox we don't need students to get better grades we merely need them to "... increased a student’s CHANCES of earning a higher grade..." and E certainly does that given they say that students who study more have a better understanding of the material. That would certainly seem to increase your CHANCES of getting a better grade.

What are your thoughts on that component?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi JotaDay,

First, if you haven't already done so, I'd recommend reading the earlier forum posts for this question.

The correct answer to a Resolve the Paradox has to explain both sides of the paradox.

One of problems with Answer E is that, at best, it only explains one side of the paradox.

If you're reading Answer E to imply that studying improves understanding the material which in turn improves one's chances of getting a higher grade, then why did "the students who spent the most time studying not earn grades as high as many of the kids who studied less?" This answer does not explain this puzzling fact, so it fails to explain the paradox.

Answer C, on the other hand, does explain both sides of the paradox by pointing out that studying helps a student improve his or her grade, even though there may be other naturally gifted students who can still get better grades with less studying. In other words, the correct way to measure whether studying improves one's grades is to compare the same student before and after studying rather than comparing them to other students who may be completely different in their abilities and grade performance.