A recent study indicates that inner-city children who participated in

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Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that children who participated in preschool education programs during the early 1970s have achieved markedly greater rates of success in school and later in the job market than have children who were not part of such programs.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Idioms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• "greater A than B" is the correct, idiomatic comparison; A and B must be comparable and parallel.
• "when" is used to refer to a point in time.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.
• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
• The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "greater A ("rates of success in school and later in the job market") as B ("children who were not part of such programs")"; remember, "greater A than B" is the correct, idiomatic comparison; A and B must be comparable and parallel.

B: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "greater A ("rates of success in school and later in the job market") as compared to B ("children who were not part of such programs")"; remember, "greater A than B" is the correct, idiomatic comparison; A and B must be comparable and parallel. Further, Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase "as compared to", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "when compared to"; the use of "when" incorrectly implies that the rates of success achieved by children who participated in preschool education programs during the early 1970s are greater than those achieved by children who were not part of such programs, specifically at the time when the two rates are compared; the intended meaning is that the rates of success achieved by children who participated in preschool education programs during the early 1970s are greater than those achieved by children who were not part of such programs; remember, "when" is used to refer to a point in time. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "are" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature. Additionally, Option C uses the needlessly wordy phrase "that are markedly greater", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb "did" to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; remember, the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present, and the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past. Further, Option D uses the needlessly wordy phrase "that were markedly greater", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "greater...than", conveying the intended meaning - that the rates of success achieved by children who participated in preschool education programs during the early 1970s are greater than those achieved by children who were not part of such programs. Further, Option E avoids the tense error seen in Option E, as it uses the phrase "markedly greater" rather than "that are markedly greater". Moreover, Option E correctly uses the simple present tense verb "have ("achieved") to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present. Additionally, Option E correctly uses the idiomatic construction "greater A ("rates of success in school and later in the job market") than B ("children who were not part of such programs")". Besides, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team