Clearly, the strict policy adopted by prestigious Central

Question

Clearly, the strict policy adopted by prestigious Central University against cheating has worked. Since the university implemented its "no tolerance for cheating" policy two years ago, no student has dared to risk the harsh consequences for cheating. Central University has threatened to immediately shut down all competitive athletic activities if any student is caught cheating on an exam. Because students don't want to incur the wrath of the university and their fellow students, no has been caught cheating on an exam since the policy was implemented. This proves that the policy works.

Which of the following selections points out a flaw in the author's reasoning?
(a) Central University's athletic programs account for a significant percentage of the university's annual budget.
(b) Considering the problems Central University experienced in the years preceding the "no tolerance for cheating" policy, it is impossible to predict that students will never again cheat on exams at Central University.
(c) A teacher could accuse a student of cheating who is innocent, for instance, if a student's examination on computer disk was inadvertently copied onto another student's disk during the grading process; this could trigger a shut-down of athletic activities.
(d) Students have cheated in more sneaky ways outside of classroom exams, for example, by students paraphrasing their classmates' book reports. 
(e) It is impossible to tell whether cheating incidents disappeared due to another reason, i.e., perhaps teachers implemented classroom testing procedures which made it extremely difficult to cheat on classroom tests

gmatmba · Answer

I would say D points out a flaw, because author says because of strict rules, no one is caught cheating. So the rules are working. 

D says that students are cheating, but just in a way that they do not get caught. So, this points out a flaw in the authors's argument.

dkverma · Answer

I will also vote for D. But I think E is also close. Can someone explain why not E.

gmatmba · Answer

I think its not E because it says "its impossible to tell whether cheating incidents disappeared due to another reason" so how do you say that cheating disappeared due to reasons other than what the author is saying??
E is just there to mislead us

selene · Answer

I would say ^ E ^ :roll:

haas_mba07 · Answer

My choice on the Q was "E" too... will wait until some more posts before posting OA.

selene · Answer

buddy, that's bad news. It means that it is not the OA :cry:

haas_mba07 · Answer

Yep

... unfortunately that was not.... and I was very-very suprised with the OA...

Beyond700 · Answer

Fell for the trap and went for 'E' ...   reason, i.e., perhaps teachers   clearly shows it is not a valid point but an example to an open ended point..

Left is 'A' and 'D' ...

'D' seems to be the one...

haas_mba07 · Answer

Beyond was the closest ... 

Believe it or not, OA is A.

Reasoning given (although I am not convinced!!) is that the if athletic programs have the highest part of the annual budget which can cause the teachers to avoid reporting of cheating!!

gmatmba · Answer

What is the source? Also, does OE say why its not D? If athletic program has higher part of budget that school can save...maybe it can give the teachers a raise...how about that

haas_mba07 · Answer

This one is from Nova Press online resources... As for why D is incorrect the explanation given is reproduced below ... "Finally, choice (D) contradicts the author's conclusion that no cheating occurred, but it doesn't point out a problem with the author's reasoning." I am not saying that I agree with the explanation. After this question, I think I should use Nova mostly for quant and not for the verbal ...

Beyond700 · Answer

Thank you haas_mba07 for sharing the OE... Not sure if we can expect questions with such answers in GMAT. Can any one share some thoughts here ??? :roll:

paddyboy · Answer

I would still prefer E.

A) If the school saves on budget to athletic activities, then it can allocate to other needs. So gives an added incentive to report cheating. Actually, the first time around, I thought this was out of scope!
B) No mention of 'previous problems', hence cannot be correct.
C) Giving a scenario, not something that disproves the efficacy of the policy.
D) Probably the right answer, for reason mentioned by gmatmba
E) Very close, but left out because it is vague

I have Nova as well... only thing it seems to be good for is light reading :shock:

Didn't find it very comprehensive, and I think some of the answers are not quite right!

GMATPsycho · Answer

I dont inderstand, how can the books give such horrible OAs with even horrible OEs... :rocket

haas_mba07 · Answer

I would agree with that assesment, but I think if someone (like me) needs to brush up their rusty math skills it might be a good read-through.

I am actually not surprised to find errors in some of these books anymore; Especially Barrons and Nova are known for their messed up OAs & OEs... 

If anyone wants to add to the list with questionable OAs/OEs then please do.. maybe a thread for this will be a good idea, just as a "beware" flag...

Clearly, the strict policy adopted by prestigious Central

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