- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8950
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Fri Dec 20, 2019 10:46 am
#72671
Complete Question Explanation
Assumption, #%. The correct answer choice is (B).
The conclusion to this argument can be found in the last sentence. The author believes that recruiting and retaining better teachers is a better way to spend money than just for reducing class sizes. The evidence she uses is, first, that we should be focused on a more productive use of money, and second, that reductions in class size lead to only slight improvements. One approach to prephrasing for this Assumption question is to take note of a gap in the argument: the conclusion brings up the idea of "better teachers," which is a new idea not mentioned elsewhere in the argument. We need an answer that connects the idea in the premises - "more productive use of money" - to that new idea. The prephrase, then, should be something like "having better teachers is a more productive use of funds than reducing class sizes."
Answer choice (A): This is not required by the argument, and fails to connect the premises to the "better teachers" idea in the conclusion. Reducing class sizes need not be extremely expensive, but only less productive than the alternative proposed.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. This somewhat matches our prephrase by connecting the idea of "more productive use of money" to that of "recruit and retain better teachers." Don't be thrown off by the switch to "good" teachers - it's still making the right sort of connection, and that means it at least deserves to be treated as a contender! Ultimately it is the only one that does deserve consideration, and so it is the credited response.
Answer choice (C): Ease of adoption is not relevant to our argument, only the level of productivity of a policy. Plus, this answer fails to connect to the proposal in the conclusion regarding recruiting and retention of better teachers.
Answer choice (D): This answer actually undermines the argument! If reducing class size is the most cost effective way to achieve the author's proposed goal, then her claim that recruiting and retaining better teachers is a better way is nonsensical. In addition, this does not connect "recruit and retain better teachers" to "more productive use of money."
Answer choice (E): Level of difficulty is not relevant to the argument, which is only about which policy represents a more productive use of money.
Assumption, #%. The correct answer choice is (B).
The conclusion to this argument can be found in the last sentence. The author believes that recruiting and retaining better teachers is a better way to spend money than just for reducing class sizes. The evidence she uses is, first, that we should be focused on a more productive use of money, and second, that reductions in class size lead to only slight improvements. One approach to prephrasing for this Assumption question is to take note of a gap in the argument: the conclusion brings up the idea of "better teachers," which is a new idea not mentioned elsewhere in the argument. We need an answer that connects the idea in the premises - "more productive use of money" - to that new idea. The prephrase, then, should be something like "having better teachers is a more productive use of funds than reducing class sizes."
Answer choice (A): This is not required by the argument, and fails to connect the premises to the "better teachers" idea in the conclusion. Reducing class sizes need not be extremely expensive, but only less productive than the alternative proposed.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. This somewhat matches our prephrase by connecting the idea of "more productive use of money" to that of "recruit and retain better teachers." Don't be thrown off by the switch to "good" teachers - it's still making the right sort of connection, and that means it at least deserves to be treated as a contender! Ultimately it is the only one that does deserve consideration, and so it is the credited response.
Answer choice (C): Ease of adoption is not relevant to our argument, only the level of productivity of a policy. Plus, this answer fails to connect to the proposal in the conclusion regarding recruiting and retention of better teachers.
Answer choice (D): This answer actually undermines the argument! If reducing class size is the most cost effective way to achieve the author's proposed goal, then her claim that recruiting and retaining better teachers is a better way is nonsensical. In addition, this does not connect "recruit and retain better teachers" to "more productive use of money."
Answer choice (E): Level of difficulty is not relevant to the argument, which is only about which policy represents a more productive use of money.
