Bunuel
Many students enter the business school application process with excellent undergraduate grades. Since excellent undergraduate grades require passing frequent tests and final examinations, these students must have learned very strong test-taking techniques either before or during their undergraduate educational careers. Despite this, many students with promising grades fail to get scores on the GMAT that match the level of performance displayed by their undergraduate careers.
The apparent discontinuity between undergraduate academic performance and GMAT test results could best be explained by which of the following suppositions?
A. Many students with strong undergraduate careers aspire to get accepted into a top tier business school and, therefore, feel that they must present not only solid grades but also a flawless GMAT score.
B. The GMAT tests quantitative and verbal skills, both of which are covered to some extent in an undergraduate curriculum.
C. The skills necessary to excel on most academically derived exams are often learned in study-skills workshops held by colleges, from peer tutors, or from written feedback provided by professors and teaching assistants, whereas the skills required for the GMAT are often learned in classes or from books dedicated to preparing for the exam.
D. Over 75% of business school applicants report that they found it necessary to study for the GMAT, using computer software, books, and/or specialty classes.
E. The skills and strategies required for excellence on the GMAT and other standardized tests are often quite divergent from those required for success on traditional academic exams.
VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTION:
Correct Answer: E
This passage suggests that there is something responsible for the failure of academically strong students to excel on the GMAT. Therefore, we need to look for an answer choice that provides a rationale to explain this discrepancy.
Answer choice E, the correct answer, offers an explanation, noting that the skills necessary to succeed on academic exams are different from those that lead to success on the GMAT.
Answer choice B would lead one to expect scores to match undergraduate grades, and is therefore incorrect.
Choices C and D further discuss the need for study and the challenges facing applicants, but do not offer actual explanations, making both of these choices incorrect.
Answer choice A suggests why students might find the GMAT stressful, but does not offer a reason for their poor standardized test performance.