President of Teachers' Union: [b]Many people are convinced that declin

The answer is C and here is why for dummies like myself
before I get into the prethinking and why I chose C, I like to put it out there that =
Refute = synonym for "contradict" or "disagree with".
Corroborates = confirm or give support to.
as a non-native speaker things like these can really make or break!
The president of the teachers union is speaking so it's obvious he's going to support the teachers, The boldface does act as an introduction and he just builds his argument from thereon.

C. is in line with this and it took me 50 secs.

President of Teachers' Union: Many people are convinced that declining test scores in our district are the fault of teachers. Yet, our school district has recently seen a large influx in the rise of enrolling students who do not speak any English at all. Nearby districts that have seen a similar influx of students who do not speak English have all experienced much larger drops in test scores. It is a testament to the skill and dedication of our teachers that test scores in our district have dropped so little.


(A) It is the main conclusion of the argument. - Incorrect. The main conclusion here is ' It is a testament to the skill and dedication of our teachers that test scores in our district have dropped so little.'

(B) It is a finding that the argument seeks to explain.- Incorrect. The author refutes the explanation.

(C) It introduces an explanation that the argument seeks to refute. - Correct. It definitely introduces an explanation that argument seeks to refute.

(D) It provides support for the main conclusion of the argument. - Incorrect. It does not support the conclusion. It is exactly the opposite of the conclusion.

(E) It is a judgment that the argument corroborates. - Incorrect. Clearly the author doesn't corroborates with the judgement.

IMO D

President of Teachers' Union: Many people are convinced that declining test scores in our district are the fault of teachers. Yet, our school district has recently seen a large influx in the rise of enrolling students who do not speak any English at all. Nearby districts that have seen a similar influx of students who do not speak English have all experienced much larger drops in test scores. It is a testament to the skill and dedication of our teachers that test scores in our district have dropped so little.

In the bold statement an opinion of many people is given and the remaining part of the argument refutes that position and provided an alternate conclusion. We will try to look for something similar in the options.

The bold statement in the argument plays which of the following roles?

(A) It is the main conclusion of the argument. : No as discussed earlier it is not the main conclusion but the opinion given by many people : Eliminate A

(B) It is a finding that the argument seeks to explain. : No the argument is actually trying to refute the findings. Eliminate B

(C) It introduces an explanation that the argument seeks to refute. : Bingo! This is exactly what this argument is doing. Correct!

(D) It provides support for the main conclusion of the argument. : No as discussed earlier it is not supporting the main conclusion . Eliminate D

(E) It is a judgment that the argument corroborates.: No the argument is actually refuting this judgement of many people . Eliminate E

Correct Answer : C
Pharaphase:
President of Teachers' Union:
*- Many people are convinced that declining test scores in our district are the fault of teachers.
- (Argument)
*- Yet, our school district has recently seen a large influx in the rise of enrolling students who do not speak any English at all.
(Premise 1 : support Argument with facts)
* Comparison
*- Nearby districts that have seen a similar influx of students who do not speak English have all experienced much larger drops in test scores.
-(Premise 2 : support Argument with facts)
*- It is a testament to the skill and dedication of our teachers that test scores in our district have dropped so little.
- (conclusion)

(A) It is the main conclusion of the argument (Wrong - conclusion is at end)
(B) It is a finding that the argument seeks to explain (wrong - finding are the premise giving facts marked above)
(C) It introduces an explanation that the argument seeks to refute ( correct, it a argument, finding explanation with details mentioned in premise 1, and 2)
(D) It provides support for the main conclusion of the argument.( Wrong - premise 2 supports the conclusion)
(E) It is a judgment that the argument corroborates (wrong - it is irrelevant)

Usage of 'Yet' indicates change in direction of the opinion. It is a testament, conveys the last sentence is a conclusion.


(Negative) Premise 1:Many people believe the teachers are at fault for students lower test scores.
(Positive) Premise 1: In the school district, many students enrolling, don't know English than ever before.
(Positive) Premise 2: Similar situation in Nearby districts led to much larger drops in test scores.
Conclusion: Our teachers are way better, as the drop in score is so little, despite the situation.



(A) It is the main conclusion of the argument.

As per the analysis above, the bold sentence is an argument the President rejects, in the conclusion at the end. Eliminate

(B) It is a finding that the argument seeks to explain.

None of the later argument explains or supports the bold sentence. Eliminate


(C) It introduces an explanation that the argument seeks to refute.
Yes, the later part of the argument and conclusion clearly disproves the bold sentence. This is the right choice, C.

(D) It provides support for the main conclusion of the argument.
Conclusion actually disproves the bold sentence. Eliminate.

(E) It is a judgment that the argument corroborates.
The judgment of many people does not confirm with the rest of the argument. Eliminate.

KarishmaB Though I selected C but it took me awhile to differentiate between B and C. Is there any specific keyword/ word we should take note of in the passage to eliminate option B quickly ? MartyMurray

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