The percentage of students at the college where I teach that

Question

The percentage of students at the college where I teach that have managed to achieve the grade necessary to enter into university has increased since 1998. We may therefore conclude that the entrance standards of the universities have been dropping for the past few years. 
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument above?

A) The percentage of students from all the neighbouring colleges that achieve the grade necessary for university entrance has also increased.

B) The number of students in my college that achieved the entrance grade to university in 1998 was comparatively low.

C) A report issued by the Education Minister claims that the quality of degrees awarded by universities has remained consistently high since the mid 1990s.

D) The standard of education required for students entering the college where I teach has been raised consistently since 1999.

E) Some students have compared the entrance examination for their chosen university this year with the corresponding examination from 1998 and expressed the opinion that the latter was much harder.
 
Kindly provide some explanations.

sushma0805 · Answer

Ans : E.

"increased percentage" of students achieving the grade necessary to enter into university since 1998.
conclusion--> "the entrance standards of the universities have been dropping for the past few years."

in option E,its clearly stated "the entrance examination of university in 1998 compared to that of this year is much harder." and this strengthens the conslusion.

Indien · Answer

A.
Other colleges also have increased their percentages. That would mean that admission is getting easier for everyone. Hence, the entrance standards must have dropped.

Not E, because it concerns a few students. Their opinion would not contribute much to a general trend.

seekmba · Answer

my pick is (A)

If the entrance standards of universities have been dropping from last few years then the entrance exams should have become less harder (easier) in last few years. E says the opposite.

Kiski · Answer

Choice A is the correct answer. Choice E shows only what is indicated by a few "..some students".

RaviChandra · Answer

Its between A&E

I feel E is just re phrasing the conclusion....

SO go with A

ykaiim · Answer

OA is A.

The conclusion in generalized. If %, for other colleges, has also increased that means that admission is getting easier for everyone.

ankithakhu · Answer

But "all the neighboring colleges" may not be all the colleges from which students are entering in university. Maybe these neighboring college students have worked harder and thus there percentage has increased. 
I think there is still doubt.

elevinty · Answer

I fell for E, at first glance I didn't notice the word "UniversitieS" in the conclusion, I thought it was just his university.
E is comparing only one university, which the students applied to, but we need to support the argument that all the universities have dropped their standards.
good question

imania · Answer

I went for E too
but it seems right AC is A.
E might be challenged by the use of SOME

Dreamy · Answer

I was confused between A and B. Why not B? any explanations.

elevinty · Answer

B weakens the argument, it doesn't support it
the author says that grades started to increase in 1998, in B it says that grades were dropping in 1998, hence the standards were not low in 1998
make sense?

amma4u · Answer

between A & E.. A is the best because it uses "percentage" vs. E uses "some"

geturdream · Answer

Got confused with E and A. 
The  some students  has been the negative point for E
But in A, we are considering the percentage of other college students has also increased.

So A is correct.

IndianExpress · Answer

I think its E.

A says : "The percentage of students from all the neighbouring colleges that achieve the grade necessary for university entrance has also increased". It does not mean that the university standards have decreased, in - fact it might simply mean that the level of students in neighbouring colleges might have improved since 1998.

E clearly talks about an  entrance exam  and some students have tested  both  the exams and have found that the 1998 test was tougher.

As far the argument about "some" is concerned, there is no reason to believe that the sample of students who took both the tests was biased.
 
I agree that E would have been clear winner had choice E clearly mentioned that the sample of students who took both the tests was representative, still, I would think this is the most suitable option.

OA and OE please.

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The percentage of students at the college where I teach that

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