PrepTest 134, Section 2, Question 14
For one academic year all the students at(63 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(14 more words not shown)
- AThe students who(20 more words not shown)
- BThe students tended(10 more words not shown)
- CIn each course,(15 more words not shown)
- DThe students who(18 more words not shown)
- EStudents who spent(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Were the students taking the same classes?
A student working hard in AP calculus might get a B while someone doing little work in an easier course gets an A. That doesn't establish that studying fails to help. It may establish that the first student has a harder task.
Differences in prior preparation or ability could matter too. And a few students at the extremes wouldn't necessarily erase a broader relationship between studying and grades. The reported comparison doesn't tell us everything the researchers saw.
Still, course difficulty gives us a particularly useful thing to check. Compare students facing the same coursework. Does more studying then go with a better grade? If so, the researchers could reasonably find support for their hypothesis even though the students who study most across the entire school don't receive the highest grades overall.
What we’re looking for
The question asks why the researchers found support despite the apparently contrary result. We need a fact that makes those two findings fit together.
Working the answers
- A
This says the most dedicated studiers beat some below-average studiers. That's compatible with the reported result: the first group could do worse than many students and better than some others. It gives us a limited comparison, not a clear relationship between more studying and higher grades across the relevant students. C does much more to explain the researchers' conclusion.
- B
Grades declining as the year progresses doesn't tell us how grades relate to study time. Perhaps everyone faces harder tests later, for example. Without a connection to the amount of studying, the calendar trend doesn't explain why these observations support the hypothesis.
- CCorrect
Within each course, studying more goes with a better grade. Now the researchers have the relationship they were testing when they compare students doing the same coursework.
The school-wide pattern can differ because a hard course can demand more work for a lower grade than an easy course. Students in the demanding course might average Bs despite working much harder than students earning As elsewhere. Yet among students in that demanding course, the ones who study more can still do better. C shows how both observations can be true.
- D
Extracurricular involvement tells us what else students do with their time. It doesn't tell us their grades or show that additional studying improves those grades. Knowing whether students are in band or on a swim team doesn't supply the needed comparison.
- E
Understanding is valuable, but the hypothesis specifically concerns grades. Students could understand material better without receiving higher grades, perhaps because the courses or grading standards differ. E changes the outcome being measured instead of explaining the reported relationship between study time and grades.
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