public education reform

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public education reform

by himu » Mon Dec 10, 2012 8:56 pm
For years, the debate over public education reform has centered on financing. Many claim that pouring more money into the

public schools will improve student performance. However, the only way to fix our school systems is to inject new ideas and

new approaches. Today the schools are organized to benefit their adult employees rather than the students.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?


Schools that have instituted "new approaches" attract the best performing students.

Schools without outside playgrounds have lower levels of student performance than schools that do.

Studies show that student performance corresponded most directly with the education of the students' families.

School employees, by an overwhelming margin, said that the system performed well.

Researchers in education have shown that students from school districts with high per-capita spending tend to receive higher

scores on standardized tests.
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by The Iceman » Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:02 am
Although I would chose option E here, but there are still a few assumptions that we have to make.
1> scoring higher on standardized tests is analogous to improved performance

2> districts with high per capita spending implies that financing per student is high

Option B can certainly be ruled out because it may both weaken as well as strengthen the conclusion. It may weaken for the fact that a playground may require additional financing, and it may strengthen if you consider having a playground to be a kind of innovative approach on the part of the school administration.

Option C has no bearing from the reference frame of the schools and hence can be ruled out.

A, at the best strengthens the conclusion, while D is irrelevant.

PS: I would rather not study this question and if at all it did appear on the GMAT i would mark E :)

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by himu » Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:47 am
You are correct :
OA E.