Vining University’s teacher credential program should be credited for

Question

Vining University’s teacher credential program should be credited for the high grade-point averages of high school students who enroll in classes taught by Vining graduates. More new graduates of Vining’s credential program accept entry-level positions at Franklin High School than at any other high school. And during the most recent academic year, just prior to which many of Franklin’s teachers transferred to Valley View High School, the median grade point average of the students at Franklin has declined while at Valley View it has increased.

The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?

(A) The two high schools employ different methods of computing student grade point averages.

(B) Neither high school has a peer tutoring program that would afford the school an advantage over the other in terms of student academic performance.

(C) Just prior to last year, more teachers transferred from Franklin to Valley View than from Valley View to Franklin.

(D) The teachers who transferred from Franklin to Valley View were replaced with teachers who are also graduates of Vining University’s teacher credential program.

(E) The teachers who transferred from Franklin to Valley View last year were graduates of Vining’s teacher credential program.

Source:  Master GMAT

raunakd11 · Answer

Hello guys! I genuinely loved this question, pretty insightful and challenging. Basically, the question expects us to know the root cause behind a drop in the students' grade point average. We need to find the assumption in which the students' grades have fallen, and it should explain us why it has happened. Using Process of Elimination (POE), Eliminate Option A , despite the fact that 2 schools use different methods of computing the grades, we are unable to register why they have fallen. Drop this option. Eliminate Option B , this is irrelevant. Eliminate Option C , even if more teachers transferred from 'Franklin to Valley View than from Valley View to Franklin' , we do not know the credibility of the teacher, i.e. the teacher might not have taken the Vining’s teacher credential program. So that doesn't assure us anything. Eliminate Option D , this option made me think twice, but it is not completely clear towards our pre-thinking. So, I'll say drop this as well. Option E is on point and apt with our understanding. It clearly gives us an assumption that the teachers shifted from school A to school B who have taken the Vining’s teacher credential program . So, it suffices our understanding. Official Answer:- Option E Thank you! Regards, Raunak Damle

Vidhi96 · Answer

Vining University’s teacher credential program should be credited for the high grade-point averages of high school students who enroll in classes taught by Vining graduates. More new graduates of Vining’s credential program accept entry-level positions at Franklin High School than at any other high school. And during the most recent academic year, just prior to which many of Franklin’s teachers transferred to Valley View High School, the median grade point average of the students at Franklin has declined while at Valley View it has increased.

The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?

(A) The two high schools employ different methods of computing student grade point averages.  Does not affect our assumption

(B) Neither high school has a peer tutoring program that would afford the school an advantage over the other in terms of student academic performance.  Does not affect our assumption

(C) Just prior to last year, more teachers transferred from Franklin to Valley View than from Valley View to Franklin.  But that would not decrease if Vining grads are still there at Franklin

(D) The teachers who transferred from Franklin to Valley View were replaced with teachers who are also graduates of Vining University’s teacher credential program.  In this case, the avg should have increased

(E) The teachers who transferred from Franklin to Valley View last year were graduates of Vining’s teacher credential program.  Correct, if we negate this, our para structure would collapse

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

An assumption acts as a bridge between the given premises and the conclusion.

The conclusion of this argument is that Vining University’s teacher credential program should be credited for the high grade-point averages of high school students who enroll in classes taught by Vining graduates.

The passage gives us the information that more new graduates of Vining’s credential program accept entry-level positions at Franklin High School than at any other high school. It also states that during the recent academic year, the median grade point average of the students at Franklin has declined while at Valley View High School, it has increased. And just prior to this academic year, many of Franklin’s high school teachers transferred to Valley View High School.

There seems to be a gap between the conclusion and the given premises. We are thereby looking for information that will connect the two better.

Option A doesn’t establish a connection to Vining University’ credential program and doesn’t help to explain how the University’s teacher credential program is responsible for the high grade-point averages of students taught by Vining graduates. So,  Option A  can be eliminated.

Option B gives a possible reason for why the students’ grade-point averages may have increased in Valley View but it doesn’t address the fact that many teachers transferred from Franklin to Valley View. It also doesn’t establish a connection to Vining University’s teacher credential program. So,  Option B  can also be eliminated.

Option C also only addresses the transfer of teachers from one school to another but it doesn’t establish a connection to Vining University’s teacher credential program. So,  Option C  can also be eliminated.

If the information provided in Option D were true, then Franklin’s grade-point average should not have gone down as the argument attributes the high grade-point averages to Vining University’ program. So,  Option D  can also be eliminated.

Option E states that the teachers who transferred to Valley View were graduates of Vining University’s program. The argument concludes that the high grade-point averages of the students in Franklin were due to the fact that they had been taught by graduates from Vining University based on the fact that after the teachers transferred to another school the grade-point averages of students in Franklin have dipped. We also know that the grade-point averages of the students in Valley View increased after the teachers transferred to that school. So, the assumption made by the argument is that the teachers who transferred were graduates of Vining University’s teacher credential program.

Therefore, E is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.

Vining University’s teacher credential program should be credited for

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