| Critical Reasoning Butler: March 2025 |
| March 25 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 Public schools have voiced their opposition to state legislation that would mandate the teaching of a second language in middle school. The public schools’ opposition is surprising, as the legislation applies primarily to private schools that receive any form of public assistance and does not affect public schools.
Which of the following, if true, would best explain the opposition of public schools to the legislation?
A. Under the current law, public schools are only required to teach a second language in high school.
B. The majority of students from immigrant backgrounds attend public schools and these students are generally more likely to be bilingual.
C. The exact number of public schools that do not currently teach a second language in middle school and will be exempt from the legislation is unknown.
D. Some counties have their own requirements regarding language education – in some cases, considerably more expansive than the requirements mandated by the state legislation.
E. To attract students, public schools must match the educational offerings of private schools, and private schools are not exempt from the proposed legislation.
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CR 2 Economist:
Many people claim that outsourcing alone is responsible for the decline in American manufacturing jobs over the last two decades. However, automation has also clearly played a crucial role in this decline. In the past 20 years, the average manufacturing firm has reduced its workforce by 10 percent, each year, in favor of increasingly advanced factory technology. Further, 30 percent of all currently unemployed manufacturing workers reported being laid off after a new wave of automation upgrades.
In the economist's argume[/color]nt, the portion in boldface plays which of the following roles?
(A) It is the argument’s main conclusion.
(B) It is a finding that the argument tries to explain.
(C) It is an explanation that the argument concludes is correct.
(D) It introduces a judgment opposed by the argument.
(E) It provides evidence that supports the argument’s main conclusion.