PrepTest 138, Section 3, Question 19
Editorial: Painting involves a sequential application of layers,(52 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(6 more words not shown)
- Ain the educator's(13 more words not shown)
- Bstudents who have(17 more words not shown)
- Ceducators who are(11 more words not shown)
- Dteaching new students(11 more words not shown)
- Ethe success of(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A poor foundation can make the later work harder, whether we're painting a wall or learning math.
The painting layers build on one another: a new layer adheres satisfactorily only when the layer underneath was properly applied. The educational comparison makes sense in that respect. A student who hasn't understood earlier math may struggle when later math relies on it.
What we’re looking for
Now follow the specific step the author makes. Surface preparation and the primer coat—the beginning of the painting process—are the most important steps. The blank should carry that priority over to education: the beginning matters most to the success of what follows. We aren't being asked to invent a teaching policy. We're finishing the comparison the author has already started.
Working the answers
- A
A teacher's first contact with a student isn't necessarily that student's first educational experience. A ninth-grade teacher can be meeting someone who has already had years of schooling. More importantly, the painting comparison says the early steps are important, not that they should be undemanding. A adds a teaching approach the analogy doesn't support.
- B
This captures something plausible about foundations, but stops short of the point we need to complete. The author singles out preparation and primer as the most important parts of painting. B instead predicts progress for students with secure fundamentals. Knowing that a foundation is needed doesn't, by itself, tell us how likely later progress is.
- C
Revising methods when goals aren't met is a new recommendation. We haven't been told that painters change methods after failing to achieve their goals, so there is no corresponding step to carry across to educators.
- D
Importance isn't the same as difficulty or reward. Nothing in the painting example compares how rewarding the first coat is with later coats, or how difficult those stages are. D introduces comparisons the argument never makes.
- ECorrect
The initial educational experience plays the role of preparing the surface and applying primer. The success of the whole education plays the role of the finished painting. Saying overall success depends above all on that initial experience carries across the author's claim that the beginning steps matter most.
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