PrepTest 103, Section 2, Question 5
In defending the Hyperion School of Journalism from(42 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(11 more words not shown)
- AMore than half(13 more words not shown)
- BSome newspaper editors(15 more words not shown)
- CThe number of(15 more words not shown)
- DThe program offered(19 more words not shown)
- EThe proportion of(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What happened to the other 35 percent?
The dean points to graduates entering journalism jobs or internships. That leaves a substantial group whose outcomes we have not heard about. Were they seeking those positions? Did they find work elsewhere? We cannot simply call them unemployed, but the dean's statistic does not give us the whole picture.
It also would help to know what counts as a good result. Sixty-five percent sounds precise, but a number alone does not tell us whether the school provides worthwhile help. My first concern is about the people left out of this success story.
What we’re looking for
The question asks us to weaken the dean's defense. Keep the claim in view: the school supposedly has value because of these employment outcomes. Look for a reason the statistic does less to establish the school's value than the dean suggests.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This takes a different route from my concern about the other graduates. More than half the students already came from journalism jobs. So employment in journalism after attending may reflect the students' prior experience and professional standing, rather than value added by the school.
The dean cannot simply treat later employment as an achievement produced by the program. If someone was already working in journalism, returning to a journalism job is not, by itself, evidence that the school made that possible.
A does not prove the program teaches nothing or that every employed graduate had a job beforehand. It weakens this particular defense by making the placement statistic less persuasive evidence of what the school contributed.
- B
Not necessary does not mean not useful. A journalist might succeed without journalism school and still benefit from attending it. Even if every editor agreed that the training was optional, that would not establish that it had little value.
The answer actually gives only some editors' views, but that is not the central problem. Their view concerns whether the school is required, while the dean is defending whether it helps.
- C
Fewer cities having multiple major newspapers is a trend in the industry. It does not tell us what this school contributes to its students' prospects. The dean's figure also covers broadcast journalism, so we cannot silently turn this newspaper statistic into an explanation of all the graduates' outcomes.
- D
Similar to other programs could mean similarly good, similarly poor, or somewhere in between. We have no evaluation of the peer institutions that would let this comparison undermine Hyperion's value. Matching other programs does not settle whether any of them benefit their students.
- E
A lower admission rate tells us about who gets into the school, not what the school does for those it admits. It does not explain whether the employment results reflect useful education or something else. We need a connection to the dean's defense, not merely a change in selectivity.
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