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#36493
Complete Question Explanation

Must Be True. The correct answer choice is (D)

This parent is concerned about the idea of mandating rigorous study for very young children in an
effort to make the country more competitive, and says that this course of action actually achieves
more harm than benefit. The parent says that young students have special developmental needs, and
that such a rigorous routine might be a reasonable approach in secondary school, where the children
are a bit older, but warns that too much work during the very early years provides only short term
benefits with the possibility of children burning out on schoolwork. Using children in an effort to
stay economically competitive is wrong, the parent asserts, and such tactics might ultimately be
counterproductive.

The stimulus is followed by a Must Be True question. The answers to such questions can sometimes
be difficult to prephrase, but for every Must Be True question, the right answer can be found using
the Fact Test: the correct answer choice can always be confirmed by the information provided in the
stimulus.

Answer choice (A): This choice provides that remaining competitive requires making secondary
school curricula more rigorous. Although the parent does mention that a more rigorous curriculum
may be reasonable for secondary school, and does discuss the notion of including more rigorous
study in an effort to remain competitive, the stimulus does not suggest that such an approach to the
secondary school curriculum is an absolute necessity to accomplish that goal. Since this choice fails
the Fact Test, it cannot be the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (B): This choice goes beyond the statements made by the parent quoted in the
stimulus. The only reference to secondary school appears when the parent says that a more rigorous
curriculum might be more appropriate in secondary school. There is no discussion of whether or
not the needs of those students’ needs are being addressed in our high schools, so this cannot be the
correct answer to this Must Be True question.

Answer choice (C): This choice says that the only way that the country can remain competitive is
to meet the developmental needs of all of its students. The parent quoted in the stimulus appears
to believe that meeting the developmental needs of very young students is important, but does not
suggest that the country’s ability to remain competitive depends upon meeting the developmental
needs of all students. Since the claim in this answer choice cannot be confirmed by the parent’s
statements, this choice should be eliminated.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. The parent says that the early curriculum
needs to address the specialized needs of very young students. When the parent says that this might
be reasonable in secondary schooling, the clear point is that it is not reasonable in early primary
school. Applying such an approach that early, the parent goes on to say, will yield only short term
benefits and may cause the children to burnout on schoolwork; finally, the parent closes by explicitly
stating that this approach is unfair and may be counterproductive.

Answer choice (E): The parent says that it is wrong to use children in an effort to remain
economically competitive, but does not suggest that such an approach is the only way that the
country can remain competitive.
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 schocktherapy
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  • Joined: Dec 16, 2023
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#104713
Hello,

Another clue is that the parent talks about how using very young students as pawns in achieving larger economic aims is downright wrong and unfair---» also suggest that the focus needs to be on the young primary school age children and not ‘all children’ or ‘secondary school’ age children. So once I saw that the question ended with the question ‘what must be true’ I knew I was safe within the four corners of the stimulus.

However, I do think that this was (structurally) one of the harder questions.

Finally I think what helps a lot is remembering that the word infer is generally synonymous with the phrase “must be true” or “must be true based on/off xyz”


Thanks for everything you guys do! I got the question right

Hopefully my remarks made sense and I'm on the right track as far as line of thought... :-D

Happy New Year 2024!
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 srusty
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#104897
Hi Shock! Great job! Yes, it is definitely a tricker question, with a long set up. Happy new year to you as well!

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