The question asks for an assumption made by the reader. The reader’s
conclusion is that academic rigor is in decline, based on the percentage of
colleges granting a majority of their degrees in the liberal arts mentioned in the
article. To draw this conclusion, the reader must assume that degrees not in the
liberal arts were not as academically rigorous.
(A) It is not necessary for the reader to assume that the percentage will continue
to drop. The reader's conclusion concerns the present. Assumptions must be
both unstated and necessary.
(B) This extreme statement is not a necessary assumption. The reader does not
have to assume that all colleges should do so; the conclusion only relies on an
assumption that 5.5% is too low.
(C) CORRECT. To conclude that the low percentage of colleges granting the
majority of their degrees in the liberal arts indicates a decline in academic rigor,
the reader must assume that other degree programs required less academic
rigor. If not, this evidence would not indicate a decline in academic rigor.
(D) This is not a necessary assumption. The relative importance of academic
rigor is irrelevant to the reader’s claim. That claim only asserts that academic
rigor, in isolation, is in decline. The claim has nothing to do with its importance
relative to other attributes.
(E) It is not necessary to assume anything specific about the schools that do not
grant a majority of their degrees in the liberal arts, as they are not the subject of
the evidence or the conclusion. The reader feels that the low percentage
mentioned is evidence enough; it is not necessary to assume any arbitrary level
below the 50% of degrees standard that the article and the reader use.

For me its C...

after disscusion official ans will be disclosed..:D

Premise 1 - Only 5.5% of American colleges grant the majority of their degrees in the liberal arts

Conclusion - Since only 5.5% colleges grant majority of degrees in Liberal Arts, this %[/b]LOW %[/b] proves decline of Academic Rigor in American post high school education.

Pre-phrase -
In other words, post high school, Academic Rigor is getting decreased, suggesting that Academic Rigor is important for education after high school.

Check the AC's - [d] fits in perfectly.
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Giving Kudos, is a great Way to Help the GC Community Kudos

I have an unanswered CR question...and I want to discuss it hence posting it here..... Answers with your explanations would be highly appreciated.... As mentioned the OA is not available.....a friend of mine mailed me a question he had read some place in a material....

Researchers studying the spread of the black plague in sixteenth-century england claim that certain people survived the the epidemic because they carried a genetic mutation, known as Delta-32, that is known to prevent the bacteria that causes the Plague from overtaking the immune system. to support this hypothesis, the researchers tested the direct descendents of the residents of an english town where an unusually large proportion of people survived the plague. more than half of those descendents tested positive for the mutation Delta-32, a figure nearly three times higher than that found in other locations.

The researchers hypothesis is based on which of the following assumptions:

a) delta-32 does not prevent a carrier from contracting any disease other than the plague.

b) the plague is not similar to other diseases caused by bacteria.

c) delta-32 did not exist in its current form until the sixteenth century.

d) no one who tested positive for delta-32 ever contracted a disease caused by bacteria.

e) the plague does not cause genetic mutations such as delta-32

I picked C and my explanations are highlighted

Assumption question - We can accept new information from the answers to bridge the gap between premises and conclusion