I think here E is the best choice.

A is highly verbose. "Such a lrge degree" can be replaced by "so ..that"
B - ambiguous - 'they refer to what ? Skills or people
C - Grammatically wrong.
D - 'so as to be' refers to self (i.e., students) but the structure here implies that 'it is difficult to to absorb them' but not 'they are difficult to absorb themselves'.

The correct usage of 'so as to be' is something like this.

I check the input data 100 times so as to be accurate. (Correct me if I am wrong)

E fits the bill cleanly. No issues from any corner. A perfect usage of 'so that'.

[quote="Taku"]Hello there.
Can you please help me understand the following question?

OG SC #103
Students in the metropolitan school district lack math skills to such a large degree as to make it difficult to absorb them into a city economy becoming even more dependant on information-based industries.

A: above
B: lack math skills to a large enough degree that they will be difficult to absorb into a city’s economy that becomes
C: lack of math skills is so large as to be difficult to absorb them into a city’s economy that becomes
D: are lacking so much in math skills as to be difficult to absorb into a city’s economy becoming
E: are so lacking in math skills that it will be difficult to absorb them into a city economy becoming

My question )
Where does A have wrong points besides it does not have lack “inâ€
_________________

Awaiting response,

Thnx & Rgds,
Chandra