Critical Reasoning

Top college graduates are having more difficulty demonstrating their superiority to prospective employers than did the top students of twenty years ago when an honors degree was distinction enough. Today's employers are less impressed with the honors degree. Twenty years ago no more than 10 percent of a given class graduated with honors. Today, however, because of grade inflation, the honors degree goes to more than 50 percent of a graduating class. Therefore, to restore confidence in the degrees they award, colleges must take steps to control grade inflation.

Which one of the following is an assumption that, if true, would support the conclusion in the passage?

(A) Today's students are not higher achievers than the students of twenty years ago.
(B) Awarding too many honors degrees causes colleges to inflate grades.
(C) Today's employers rely on honors ranking in making their hiring decisions.
(D) It is not easy for students with low grades to obtain jobs.
(E) Colleges must make employers aware of the criteria used to determine who receives an honors degree


please let me know the solution for this...

i think the ans is A

IMO B. Let me know if that's the OA, and i'll give you my reasoning behind it.

ruplun wrote:Top college graduates are having more difficulty demonstrating their superiority to prospective employers than did the top students of twenty years ago when an honors degree was distinction enough. Today's employers are less impressed with the honors degree. Twenty years ago no more than 10 percent of a given class graduated with honors. Today, however, because of grade inflation, the honors degree goes to more than 50 percent of a graduating class. Therefore, to restore confidence in the degrees they award, colleges must take steps to control grade inflation.

Which one of the following is an assumption that, if true, would support the conclusion in the passage?

(A) Today's students are not higher achievers than the students of twenty years ago.
(B) Awarding too many honors degrees causes colleges to inflate grades.
(C) Today's employers rely on honors ranking in making their hiring decisions.
(D) It is not easy for students with low grades to obtain jobs.
(E) Colleges must make employers aware of the criteria used to determine who receives an honors degree


please let me know the solution for this...

i think the ans is A

IMO A

How it can be B?

Weird casual relationship which does not demand any bridge.

Infact the scenario is reverse..

inflation in grades causes more honors degrees.

IMO B.
This question is a case of scope shift.The scope shifts from employers not providing jobs to honors students to grade inflation in colleges.
Finally the conclusion states that to restore confidence in the degrees they award, colleges must take steps to control grade inflation.
We need to find an assumption based on this conclusion.

Statement B draws light on that stating Awarding too many honors degrees causes colleges to inflate grades.
A,D,E does not throw light on that aspect.Even if you remove these statements,it does not have any bearing on the conclusion.
C would have been the answer if the conclusion had a relation with employers providing jobs and honors students.
What is the OA

I think its B.
CDE can be eliminated due to other reasons. Narrowing down to A and B.
I think A is wrong because the argument is not dealing with achievements or current age student's abilities. Infact the fact -50 percent of class graduates with honors - states that current students are more capable.
So the situation is -more is bad.B is near to this.

ruplun wrote:Top college graduates are having more difficulty demonstrating their superiority to prospective employers than did the top students of twenty years ago when an honors degree was distinction enough. Today's employers are less impressed with the honors degree. Twenty years ago no more than 10 percent of a given class graduated with honors. Today, however, because of grade inflation, the honors degree goes to more than 50 percent of a graduating class. Therefore, to restore confidence in the degrees they award, colleges must take steps to control grade inflation.

Which one of the following is an assumption that, if true, would support the conclusion in the passage?

(A) Today's students are not higher achievers than the students of twenty years ago.
(B) Awarding too many honors degrees causes colleges to inflate grades.
(C) Today's employers rely on honors ranking in making their hiring decisions.
(D) It is not easy for students with low grades to obtain jobs.
(E) Colleges must make employers aware of the criteria used to determine who receives an honors degree


please let me know the solution for this...

i think the ans is A

i think the answer choice should be B instead of A
the main point the argument is not to compare the grade between current students and students 20 years ago.