16Hit1600
Information and IdeasVery hardInference from a subtle contrast in outcomes

Information and Ideas practice question

Two neighbouring schools adopted the same reading programme in the same year. In one, reading scores rose sharply; in the other, they did not change. The first school gave its teachers a week of training in the programme; the second gave a two-hour briefing. The most reasonable interpretation is that ____

Which choice most logically completes the text?

  1. A. the programme's success depended on how thoroughly teachers were trained to deliver it.Correct
  2. B. the programme does not work.
  3. C. the second school's students were less capable.
  4. D. reading scores rise on their own every year.

Answer: A. the programme's success depended on how thoroughly teachers were trained to deliver it.

Same programme, same year, different training, different results: training is the variable that differs.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. the programme does not work.
It worked in the first school.
C. the second school's students were less capable.
Nothing about the students differs in the text; the training does.
D. reading scores rise on their own every year.
The second school's scores did not change.

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