danj wrote:
Reading skills among high school students in Gotham have been steadily declining, which can only be the result of overcrowding in the schools.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument expressed above?
a) The high school system in Gotham succeeds in giving students a good education at considerably less cost than do most systems.
b) Several cities have found that overcrowding in the schools is not always associated with lower reading scores.
c) Gotham schools have a greater teacher-to-student ratio than most other school systems.
d) Students' reading skills have not declined in other cities where the high schools are just as crowded as those of Gotham.
e) Schools are not overcrowded in many cities where high school reading scores have declined more than they have in Gotham.
Please justify your options. I feel two options (d & e) are correct. Stimulus suggests that overcrowding in the schools (cause) leads to decline in reading skills among high school students in Gotham (Effect).
Option d states effect does not occur even when the cause occurs.
Option e states effect occurs even when cause has not occurred.
How do you justify one option over the other as both seem to weaken the argument.
Reading skills have declined.
Schools are overcrowded.
Conclusion: Overcrowding is necessary for decline in skills.
The use of the word "only" shows that the author considers "overcrowding" necessary for decline in reading skills. It is our "only if" construct.
Only if overcrowding, then decline in reading skills.
We need to weaken this i.e. we need to weaken that overcrowding is necessary for decline in reading skills.
a) The high school system in Gotham succeeds in giving students a good education at considerably less cost than do most systems.
Cost is irrelevant
b) Several cities have found that overcrowding in the schools is not always associated with lower reading scores.
Overcrowding may not always lead to lower reading scores. This says that overcrowding may not be sufficient. Our argument does not worry about sufficiency. We are concerned about necessity.
c) Gotham schools have a greater teacher-to-student ratio than most other school systems.
Teacher-student ratio is irrelevant. We are talking about overcrowding - too many students in one school. We don't know the parameters on which "too many" is measured.
d) Students' reading skills have not declined in other cities where the high schools are just as crowded as those of Gotham.
Same as option (B). Overcrowding is not sufficient to cause lower reading skills.
e) Schools are not overcrowded in many cities where high school reading scores have declined more than they have in Gotham.
Shows that without overcrowding too, decline in reading skills can occur. So overcrowding is not necessary. Weakens our argument.
Note that the author is applying the principle to Gotham. We need to weaken the principle. For that we can show how it doesn't apply necessarily and hence it may not apply to Gotham either.
Answer (E)
Note: I may have worded the argument differently to make it clearer.
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