More than 80% of the executives in the county attended high school in the county, and clearly they represent some of the brightest in the county. Among the seventeen high schools in the county, the three in the coastal towns have had the highest test scores in the county for several decades. A recent study shows that almost all of the county executives who attended high school in the county attended one of those three high schools in the coastal towns.

The argument above is most vulnerable to criticism on which grounds?

A) The argument does not take into account the significant salary difference between jobs in government and careers in the private sector.
B) The argument inappropriately posits a causal relationship between academic intelligence and the ability to govern effectively.
C) The argument assumes without basis that these county executives were above-average students at their respective high schools.
D) The argument does not consider that all county executive now work in the county seat, which has the lowest scoring high schools in the county.
E) The argument fails to note that one inland high school has high scores similar to the three on the coast, and yet no current county executive attended it.



OA C

Source: Magoosh