Logical Reasoning

PT138 · S4 · Q14 Editorial: A proposed new law

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Editorial: A proposed new law would limit elementary school class sizes to a maximum of 20 students.

Conclusion

We don't think that making classes smaller allows teachers to devote more time to each student, with the result being that students become more engaged in the learning process. (Specifically, we disagree with that last part about students becoming more engaged)

Evidence

We studied schools who underwent reductions in class size, and the teachers did devote more time to each student, but the grades were unchanged.

Evaluate

It takes some (very important) mental effort to figure out what the conclusion is specifically saying. It's objecting to a 2-part claim, but it acknowledges in the premise that the first part of the claim is valid. So by process of elimination, we know the conclusion is arguing that "students didn't become more engaged".

The evidence doesn't talk about whether or not they were more engaged at all. It only talks about whether or not their grades went up.

Goal

Apparently this argument is assuming that "grades = engagement in the learning process".

Specifically the author is thinking, if their grades → their engagement in the didn't go up learning process didn't go up

or by contrapositive, more engaged → grades change in learning process

14.

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

  1. The only schools appropriate for

    Too Strong: only

    This is far from our predicted missing link. It doesn't involve connecting "grades" to "engagement in the learning process". Would it hurt this author's argument if we negated this and said, "Sometimes schools other than large elementary school are appropriate for study"? Of course not. Everyone in the world believes that sometimes it would be appropriate to study schools other than large elementary schools.

    1% picked this

  2. Teachers generally devote the same

    Too Strong: generally / same / each

    This is an incredibly strong claim that no one in the real world would assent to: 51% or more of teachers devote an identical amount of personalized attention to every single student in class. Our author certainly didn't commit to such an extreme idea, and if we negated this and said, "Sorry, author, at most 49% of teachers give identical attention to every student", it wouldn't hurt the author in the slightest.

    13% picked this

  3. Reductions in class size would

    Out of Scope: fewer teachers

    This author never said anything insinuating that reducing class size necessarily brings with it a reduction in the number of teachers. The author is looking at a study where smaller class size went with (presumably) same number of teachers. Because the ratio of students per teacher improved, the teachers could spend more time with individual students.

    2% picked this

  4. Correct

    Degree of student engagement in

    Why this is right

    This is addressing the big gap between the premise, "we reduced class size, but the grades didn't change" and the conclusion, "reducing class size doesn't lead to students' becoming more engaged in the learning process". The author must think that "grades change" is connected to "engagement in the learning process". If we negated this answer we would get this objection: "yo, author, the degree to which students are engaged in the learning process is not well reflected by grades. So even if grades remained unchanged when that school reduced class sizes, it still may be that engagement in the learning process was changed."

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

    80% picked this

  5. Parental support for the proposed

    Too Strong

    Too Strong: solely Only Thing Mentioned ? Only Thing Necessary Assumption answers love to write this style of trap answer, which one might call the All Lives Matter trap answer. When someone says "Black lives matter", they are only affirming that yes, black lives matter. They aren't saying only Black lives matter. Just because black lives are the only ones mentioned doesn't mean they're the only things to which "lives matter" applies. Similarly, when we are told "parents support this measure and argue that students would become more engaged in the learning process", we can't hear that as "they only support it because they think students will become more engaged."

    4% picked this

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