Nez
i want to take this straight to veritasprep.
The question goes.
School Administrator: The number of fourteen year olds in Britain who are considered “gifted” – that is who score higher than 90% of their peers on the mandatory secondary school entrance exam (MSEEE) – has increased steadily over the past decade.
If the school administrator’s findings are correct, which of the following can be concluded on the basis of those findings?
A)There has been at least some improvement in British education over the past decade.
B)The number of British fourteen year olds who are not considered gifted has decreased over the past decade.
C)The number of British fourteen year olds taking the MSEEE has increased over the past decade.
D)Preparation for the MSEEE has improved in British schools over the past decade.
E)The percentage of British fourteen year olds who are considered gifted has increased as a percentage of the total population.
HERE IS MY POINT OF CONTROVERSY
if C can be concluded then E also can be concluded, just as both MUST not be concluded. Both are possible conclusions but not inevitable.
WHY?
IN E - an increase in gifted proportion can be caused by increasing number of gifted kids if the number of ungifted did not increase more than the increase in the number of gifted.
IN C - the number of kids taking taking the test can be increased by increasing number of gifted kids taking the test but not necessarily since the number of gifted can increase while the number of ungifted reduces.
So in fact C can be concluded if the number of ungifted did not reduce more than the increase in the number of gifted.
I keep believing I'm missing something. that's why i brought it here.
So how is C the answer please?
Am I missing something?
The first point is this: "which of the following can be concluded" means "which of the following MUST be true"
You can
conclude only that which is
definitely true.
"gifted" are those who score more than 90% of their peers. So if there are 100 students and all are ranked, top 10 ranks will be gifted.
If there are 1000 students and all are ranked, top 100 will be gifted etc.
Can you increase the number of gifted students if total students remain 100? No. Only top 10 will always be gifted. That is how "gifted" is defined.
How will "gifted" students increase? If total number of students will increase.
SO (C) must be true.
E)The percentage of British fourteen year olds who are considered gifted has increased as a percentage of the total population.
Sure, number of gifted students has increased so number of students taking this test has increased but do they account for a larger % of the population now? Not necessary. The entire population could have increased increased proportionally or could have increased much more. So % of these students could be same/greater or lower now in the entire population.
Therefore, the answer is (C).