Logical Reasoning

PT119 · S3 · Q17 Traditionally, students at Kelly University

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Traditionally, students at Kelly University have evaluated professors on the last day of class.

Conclusion

Evaluations under the new computer-submitted system will accurately reflect the distribution of student opinion.

Evidence

Previously, evaluations were given on the last day of class, but some professors wouldn't bother giving them out. Some would give them out selectively. Many students aren't even attending the last day. (So the sample size was smaller than we'd like and not necessarily representative)

With the computer-submitted evaluations, students can submit their evaluation at any time during the semester.

Evaluate

Because this author is Assuming a Difference with this new & improved evaluation option, we can spell out some of the things the author is thinking are going to be better:

- at least as many (but hopefully more) students will end up submitting an evaluation - a more representative sampling of students will end up submitting an evaluation

Do we have to believe that?

Of course not: -- if I have an evaluation I can submit at any point during the semester, I'll probably never remember to do it. Maybe this will have a worse participation rate than did the former option where I was just handed an evaluation in the last class and told, "do it now".

-- the sampling might be very biased towards extreme reactions (the Yelp phenomenon; people only bother to write a review if they have very strong positive or negative feelings)

Goal

Look for an answer affirming the positive changes the author thinks this will have (better sample size, more representative sample), or an answer ruling out some objection we might have to this computer idea that would suggest we won't be getting an accurate reflection of student opinion.

17.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

  1. Professors who distribute the paper

    Too Strong: only

    The author is certainly insinuating, by saying that some professors distribute the evaluations selectively, that they are probably trying to bias the results in favor of good evaluations. But doing that doesn't require that you only give it to people you personally like. You might only give it to students who you think like you (after all, you're just trying to give it to students who will rate you well). You also might only give it out to classes that you think, by enlarge, liked you, even if that means you still give the evaluations to some students in that class, who might not like you that much.

    5% picked this

  2. Students can wisely and insightfully

    Too Strong: wisely and insightfully

    This is close to being accurate, but the author doesn't need to assume that early-semester responses are wise and insightful. She just has to assume that they're an accurate reflection of how those students would have evaluated the teaching performance by the time the semester ended. Whether an evaluations is an accurate reflection of student opinion is very different from whether the student opinion is wise and insightful.

    34% picked this

  3. The traditional system for evaluating

    Too Strong: any

    The author has not been so extreme that we could accuse her of saying "this old evaluation system should never be used again at any university!!" The author's conclusion isn't even normative / prescriptive language (e.g. should, ought). It's just descriptive: in the new system, X will happen.

    1% picked this

  4. Nearly all professors who fail

    Too Strong: nearly all

    Our author hasn't committed herself to this extreme and cynical of an accusation. She might believe that most professors who fail to distribute the evaluations aren't afraid of bad evaluations, they're just unwilling to give up 10-15 minutes of precious class time in their final class for students to sit there and fill out the evaluations.

    7% picked this

  5. Correct

    Dissatisfied students are in general

    Why this is right

    Whenever we're doing Necessary Assumption and we see an answer choice ruling out an idea with "not", we are enticed. We want to slow down, negate it, and see if it becomes an objection. (If it doesn't, eliminate. If it does, pick it) Would it hurt the argument to say that "angry students are in general more likely than happy students to submit a computerized eval"? Definitely. The author is claiming that the computerized system will accurately reflect student opinion, but it sounds from this negation like the computerized system will skew towards negative reviews in a way that will not be reflective of overall student opinion.

    Skill tested: Necessary Assumption · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    54% picked this

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