Critical Reasoning

On average, schools that provide an extra recess period each day during which children are allowed unstructured play score higher on state aptitude tests than schools that do not provide such a recess period. Therefore, the test scores at Malthus Elementary would likely improve if the school adds a recess period of unstructured play.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument?

A) Nearly all of the schools providing the extra unstructured recess period provided it to reward students for their performance on the aptitude tests.
B) Schools that add an extra period of recess perform better than schools that merely switch from structured to unstructured recess.
C) Malthus already enjoys above average scores on the aptitude tests in question.
D) An extra recess period allows students less time to study for their aptitude tests.
E) Malthus formerly had an extra period of recess.

[spoiler]OA:A [/spoiler]

[spoiler]Why is D incorrect? [/spoiler]

This question is an example of the reversal of a cause and effect. You see the implied or assumed cause and effect is that an extra period of recess LEADS to higher test scores on aptitude tests. This is because the two things occur together. Yet that does not mean that recess leads to the higher test scores. Maybe the higher test scores lead to the extra recess time. That is what choice A indicates.

Choice D does not weaken because having less time to study for the test does not necessarily result in lower scores. In fact, if the stimulus is correct, the unstructured recess period may be more important to aptitude scores than is studying. Basically the idea is that unstructured play may be the key to higher scores.

I did not happen to write this Veritas CR question, but I did write three articles recently that apply to this very subject. Basically, in reality, exercise is one of the keys to a good GMAT score! The articles on exercise and brain function are:

https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2013/12 ... mat-score/

https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2013/12 ... t-anxiety/

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/05/ ... e-the-gmat

Interesting
Thank you David.