Official Explanation
1. Which one of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
Explanation
The answer to a main idea question will summarize the passage, without going beyond it.
(A) fails to meet these criteria because it makes a false claim. Lines imply that the discrepancy in allocation of funds is greater in Latin America. Besides, Latin America is mentioned only in passing, so this is not the main idea.
(B) also makes a false claim. The author implies that increased funding for education is irrelevant, if not counterproductive. In fact, the sentence “The President’s committee for the study of school finance should ask not how to support or how to trim such increasing costs, but how they can be avoided” implies that he thinks an increase in funding would be counterproductive.
(C) is implied by the sentence “The United States . . . is obviously too poor to provide equal schooling,” but the author does not fully develop this idea. Besides, he implies that the problem is not financial.
(D) is the second-best answer-choice. The answer to a main idea question should sum up the passage, not make a conjecture about it. Clearly the author has serious reservations about obligatory schooling, but at no point does he state or imply that it should be scrapped. He may believe that it can be modified, or he may be resigned to the fact that, for other reasons, it is necessary. We don’t know.
Finally, (E) aptly summarizes the passage, without going beyond it. The key to seeing this is the opening to paragraph three, “Equal obligatory schooling must be recognized as at least economically unfeasible.” In other words, regardless of any other failings, it cannot succeed economically and therefore cannot provide equal education.
Answer: E
2. The author most likely would agree with which one of the following solutions to the problems presented by obligatory education?
Explanation
This is an application question. These questions tend to be rather difficult, though this one is not. To answer an application question, put yourself in the author’s place. If you were arguing his case, which of the solutions would you advocate?
As to (A), although we rejected the recommendation that obligatory education be eliminated as Question 1’s answer, it is the answer to Question 2. The author does not merely imply that obligatory education has some shortcomings; he suggests that it is fundamentally flawed. Again this is made clear by the opening to paragraph three, “Equal obligatory schooling must be recognized as at least economically unfeasible.” Still, there is a possible misunderstanding here: perhaps the author believes that obligatory education is a noble but unrealistic idea. This possibility, however, is dispelled by the closing paragraph in which he states that obligatory education polarizes society and sets up a caste system. Obviously, such a system, if this is true, should be discarded. The answer is (A). The other choices can be easily dismissed.
(B) is incorrect because nothing in the passage suggests that the author would advocate a solution that would polarize society even more. Indeed, at the end of paragraph three, he suggests that the rich already get more than their fair share.
(C) is incorrect because it contradicts the author. Paragraph two is dedicated to showing that the United States is too poor to provide equal schooling. You can’t divert money
you don’t have.
(D) is incorrect. It reads too much into the last paragraph.
Finally, (E) is the second-best answer choice. Although the author probably believes that future spending should be restrained or capped, this understates the thrust of his argument. However, he might offer this as a compromise to his opponents.
Answer: A
3. According to the passage, education is like health care in all of the following ways EXCEPT:
Explanation
This is a description question, so we must find the place from which it is drawn. It is the first paragraph. The sentence “But increased treatment by both doctors and teachers has shown steadily declining results” shows that both have reached a point of diminishing returns. This eliminates (A) and (B). Next, the passage states “Medical expenses concentrated on those above forty-five have doubled several times” and that the demand and costs of higher education are growing faster than the demand and costs of elementary and high school education. This eliminates (D). Next, the opening to the passage states that the costs of education “have risen almost as fast as the cost of medical treatment.” This eliminates (E). Hence, by process of elimination, the answer is (C). We should, however, verify this. In paragraph three, the author does state that there is a “keen” discrepancy in the funding of education between rich and poor, but a survey of the passage shows that at no point does he mention that this is also the case with health care.
Answer: C
4. Why does the author consider the results from increased educational expenditures to be “even stranger” than those from increased medical expenditures?
Explanation
This is an extension question. We are asked to interpret a statement by the author. The needed reference is the closing sentence to paragraph one. Remember: extension questions require you to go beyond the passage, so the answer won’t be explicitly stated in the reference—we will have to interpret it.
The implication of President Nixon’s promise is that despite increased educational funding many children cannot even read when they graduate from school. Hence the answer is (B).
Don’t make the mistake of choosing (C). Although at first glance this is a tempting inference, it would be difficult to compare the results of education and medical care directly (how would we do so?). Regardless, the opening line to the passage states that educational costs have risen “almost as fast” as medical costs, not faster.
(A) is incorrect because the passage never mentions the aging of the population. The same is true for (D).
Many students who cannot solve this question choose (E)—don’t. It uses as bait language from the passage, “inevitably polarizes a society.” Note: The phrase “Right to Read” in (B) is not a same language trap; it is merely part of a paraphrase of the passage. The correct answer to an extension question will often both paraphrase and extend a passage statement but will not quote it directly, as in (E).
Answer: B
5. Which one of the following most accurately characterizes the author’s attitude with respect to obligatory schooling?
Explanation
Like most tone questions this one is rather easy. Although choice (A) is a measured response, the author clearly does not admire the obligatory school system. This eliminates (A); it also eliminates (C) and (D). Of the two remaining choices, (B) is the measured response, and it is the answer. Although the author strongly opposes obligatory schooling, “resentful” is too strong and too personal. A scholar would never directly express resentment or envy, even if that is his true feeling.
Answer: B
6. By stating “In Latin America the amount of public money spent on each graduate student is between 350 and 1,500 times the amount spent on the median citizen” and “In the United States the discrepancy is smaller” the author implies that
Explanation
This is another extension question. By stating that the amount of funding spent on graduate students is more than 350 times the amount spent on the average citizen, the author implies that it would be impossible to equalize the funding. Hence the answer is (B).
None of the other choices have any real merit. (A) is incorrect because the import of the passage is that the rich get better schooling and more public funds in the United States and therefore discrimination is “keener”.
(C) and (D) are incorrect because they are neither mentioned nor implied by the passage. (E) is the second-best choice. Although this is implied by the numbers given, it has little to do with the primary purpose of the passage—to show that obligatory education is perhaps not such a good idea.
Answer: B
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Updated on: 20 Sep 2019, 05:37
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