Children in the first three grades who attend private schools spend ea

Official Explanation

The author’s recommendation that public schools should have computerized reading programs depends upon the correctness of the explanation of the present deficiency in reading skills in the public schools. The contrast with private-school students shows that the author thinks the deficiency can be attributed to the lack of such a program in the public schools. So, one of the author’s assumptions, and that is what the question stem is asking about, is that the differential in reading skills is a result of the availability of a computerized program in the private-school system and the lack thereof in the public school system.

(E) is, of course, irrelevant to the question of reading skills.

(C) tries to force the author to assume a greater burden than the author has undertaken. The author claims that the reading skills of public-school children could be improved by a computerized reading program. The author does not argue the merits of having good reading skills.

(A) and (B) are wrong for the same reason. The author’s claim must be interpreted to mean “of children who are able to learn, all would benefit from a computerized reading program.” When the author claims that “public-school children can be good readers,” the author is not implying that all children can learn to be good readers nor that all can learn to read equally well.

The correct answer is (D).