In a study in which secondary school students were asked to identify

Question

In a study in which secondary school students were asked to identify the teachers they liked the best, the teachers most often identified possessed a personality type that constitutes 20 percent of the general public but only 5 percent of teachers. Thus something must discourage the people who would be the best-liked teachers from entering this profession.

Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

(A) People with the personality type constitute 5 percent of the medical profession.

(B) People with the personality type constitute 5 percent of college students pursuing a degree in education.

(C) Students of teachers with the personality type are intensely recruited for noneducational professions.

(D) Students with the personality type are more likely to be liked by teachers than those with other personality types.

(E) Teachers with the personality type are more likely to quit teaching than those with other personality types.

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

First, break down the argument, starting with the conclusion:

Conclusion: "something must discourage the people who would be the best-liked teachers from entering this profession"
 
 Support: teachers most often identified as the best-liked ones "possessed a personality type that constitutes 20 percent of the general public but only 5 percent of teachers"

Essentially, the desired personality type is underrepresented among teachers. After all, 20% of the general population has it, but only 5% of teachers do. The argument provides an explanation for this: something prevents these people from entering the teaching profession.

Which answer choice weakens the argument?
 
Option (A) tells us that this personality type is ALSO underrepresented in the medical profession. That doesn’t impact the argument about  teachers  at all .  We just don’t get any insight into why the teaching profession is so low on people with the personality type. (A) is out.
 
Statement (B) actually would SUPPORT the argument. The fact that the personality type is already underrepresented in people studying to become teachers shows that people with this personality type don't choose to become teachers in the first place. Eliminate (B).
 
The argument is about the  teachers  possessing a certain personality type. We do not really care about what their  students  do in the future. We have no idea what kind of personality type they possess, it is not necessarily this "great" one the argument mentions.

So this statement doesn't have any impact on our conclusion. Eliminate (C).
 
OK, here we at least talk about the people with this personality type. However, choice (D) still does not discuss the issue at hand.

These students are more liked by teachers -- great for them, I guess. But being liked by teachers does not necessarily imply that these students would become teachers themselves.

So again, the connection with the argument is very marginal at best. Eliminate (D).
 
Statement (E) actually proposes an alternative explanation to the one proposed by the argument. It says that these teachers are more likely to  quit  teaching, while the argument states that these teachers  must not have ENTERED  the profession in the first place.

According to (E), the reason why teachers with such personality type are underrepresented is that they simply  quit  teaching at some point. By offering this alternative reason for the situation discussed, statement (E) indeed weakens the argument.

Since no other option does that, (E) must be correct.

Nidzo · Answer

(A) People with the personality type constitute 5 percent of the medical profession. 
 The percent of medical professionals with the personality type will not help weaken the arugment that there is something which discourages people with this personality type from entering the teaching profession.

(B) People with the personality type constitute 5 percent of college students pursuing a degree in education. 
 This option will reinforce the argument of the passage. If only 5% of college students with this personality type are pursuing a degree in education, then there is something which is discouraging the rest from pursuing teaching.

(C) Students of teachers with the personality type are intensely recruited for noneducational professions. 
 Similarly as choice (B), this choice helps strengthen the argument by offering what it is exactly that is discouraging students with the personality type from pursuing a profession in teaching.

(D) Students with the personality type are more likely to be liked by teachers than those with other personality types. 
 There is no information regarding whether this results in more or less students pursuing teaching.

(E) Teachers with the personality type are more likely to quit teaching than those with other personality types. 
 This shows us that although only 5% of teachers have this personality trait, a much higher number pursues the profession. In other words, there is not something discouraging people with these traits from pursuing teaching, rather there is something within the profession which makes these people who are teachers more likely to leave.

ANSWER E

unraveled · Answer

In a study in which secondary school students were asked to identify the teachers they liked the best, the teachers most often identified possessed a personality type that constitutes 20 percent of the general public but only 5 percent of teachers. Thus something must discourage the people who would be the best-liked teachers from entering this profession.

Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

(A) People with the personality type constitute 5 percent of the  medical profession . - WRONG. Irrelevant. Though this may be kept for the time being, for if an analogy is to be drawn, till a better choice is available.

(B) People with the personality type constitute 5 percent of  college students  pursuing a degree in education. - WRONG. Its is about the teachers being liked by the students. Irrelevant.

(C)  Students  of teachers with the personality type are  intensely recruited for noneducational professions . - WRONG. The green text gives another likely reason for the case in discussion. But here it is about students and thus irrelevant.

(D)  Students with the personality type  are more likely to be  liked by teachers  than those with other personality types. - WRONG. Situation reversal that is irrelevant.

(E)  Teachers  with the personality type are more  likely to quit teaching  than those with other personality types. - CORRECT. Earlier profession of these teachers liked by the students was teaching which they left and thus the anomaly as presented in the passage.

The question is difficult for the abstractness that it has in the language. However, the choices make it a bit easier if the context is understood a little.

Answer E.

VerbalBot · Answer

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In a study in which secondary school students were asked to identify

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