PrepTest 134, Section 2, Question 9
Robert: The school board is considering adopting a(71 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(13 more words not shown)
- ATeachers would be(26 more words not shown)
- BMost parents who(21 more words not shown)
- CIn school districts(26 more words not shown)
- DTeachers spend no(39 more words not shown)
- EStudents prefer taking(19 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The same number of school days doesn't necessarily mean the same amount of new material.
I can see the appeal of Robert's proposal. After a long summer break, students may need to review what they've forgotten before they can move on. Shorter breaks might avoid that extended catch-up period. That doesn't settle whether eliminating summer vacation is a good policy overall. Long summers might have benefits for family travel or other activities.
But Samantha makes a narrower objection: teachers can't cover more new material because the new calendar provides about the same number of school days. Why assume each calendar uses those days equally well? A day spent relearning old material isn't a day available for something new.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for Robert's response to Samantha. I'd point to the difference between one long break and several short breaks: perhaps the shorter breaks require much less review. That would answer her particular objection while accepting her count of school days.
Working the answers
- A
Teachers' willingness to accept the schedule doesn't show that they could teach more new material under it. They could happily accept the change even if Samantha were right about its academic effect. We need to answer her reasoning, not negotiate the teachers' vacation preferences.
- B
This might give Robert another reason to favor eliminating summer vacation: arranging child care over a long break is difficult. But it leaves Samantha's claim about new material untouched. She could agree that the change helps working parents and still insist that it doesn't free any teaching time. A reason for Robert's broader policy isn't necessarily a response to this objection.
- C
These districts increased the number of school days. The proposal before us rearranges approximately the same number of days. Evidence that extra school days improve understanding and retention doesn't establish what happens when we merely shorten and redistribute the breaks.
- DCorrect
Now we have the difference our prediction needed. After a break of a few weeks, review takes no more than a day. After the long summer, it can take as much as a month. Even allowing a review day after each short break, the shorter breaks can leave substantially more time for new material.
Samantha counts the available days without accounting for how many get spent catching up. D shows why the same total can leave teachers with different amounts of usable time for new lessons. It doesn't require denying that the two schedules have about the same number of school days.
- E
Students' preference for a long summer vacation could matter in a broader policy discussion. It doesn't show whether the new schedule permits more teaching, and it doesn't help Robert answer Samantha's argument. Preferences and the amount of new material are separate questions.
More Weaken questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Weaken questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.