PrepTest 111, Section 1, Question 4
Parent P: Children will need computer skills to(55 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(15 more words not shown)
- AWhen technology is(24 more words not shown)
- BThroughout history people(25 more words not shown)
- CIn the process(19 more words not shown)
- DAutomotive technology is(25 more words not shown)
- EOnce people have(21 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Learning one computer might help you learn the next one.
I have questions about Parent P's proposal. Even if computer skills will be useful, does that establish that instruction must start in kindergarten or that every high school student must study a computer language? Those are stronger recommendations than the general need for skills by itself supports.
But Parent Q goes too far in the other direction by calling the instruction pointless. Suppose the particular computer or language becomes obsolete. What about the skills learned while using it? Learning how to work through problems in one language might help with another. Becoming comfortable with one device might make the next less intimidating. The exact tool can change while some of the learning remains useful.
What we’re looking for
We're asked for Parent P's strongest response to Q. That directs us to Q's claim that the early learning has no point. I'd look for evidence that the skills carry over, even when the hardware or language doesn't. We can answer that objection without proving every detail of P's proposed curriculum.
Working the answers
- A
A need for regular training doesn't tell us what value the initial school instruction retains. Perhaps later training builds on it; perhaps it replaces it. A doesn't settle that. It also doesn't show that needing updates makes early learning pointless. We need a more direct answer to Q's dismissal.
- B
Children could be capable of adapting to technological change whether or not this proposed school instruction helps them. The answer describes their ability to adapt without showing that learning today's tools contributes to that ability. It is less direct than explaining what the instruction gives them.
- CCorrect
Learning any computer or computer language improves children's ability to interact with computer technology. That gives the instruction a benefit beyond familiarity with one particular tool.
The old computer can become obsolete without taking that broader ability away. C therefore answers Q's reason for calling the instruction pointless: the students gain something transferable, not just knowledge tied to an aging machine or language.
- D
This is an appealing comparison. Drivers don't have to relearn driving whenever automotive technology changes. But we would still need to show that learning computers works similarly. The answer offers an analogy rather than establishing the transfer of computer skills itself. C directly supplies the fact the comparison would need us to infer.
- E
Having less time to study after graduation might make school a convenient time to learn. It doesn't establish that what students learn now will be useful later. Q's objection concerns the value of the learning when technology changes, not simply whether adults have enough free time.
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