Standardized test score and college admissions data indicate that Weyland is the highest performing high school in the Perne school district. Welyand must be a highly ranked school nationally.
In the first column, indicate which of the following statements, if true, would most strengthen the argument above. In the second column, indicate which statement, if true, would most weaken it. Make only two selections, one in each column.
Correct
Incorrect
The conclusion of the argument is that Weyland is a highly ranked school nationally. The supporting premise asserts the reason for the conclusion: Weyland is the best high school in the Perne district.
This argument assumes that the Perne district is at least as good as most other districts in the country. If the Perne district overall is poorly ranked, then Weyland High School might only be the best of a "below average" lot, making the conclusion incorrect. However, if the Perne district is at least as good as, or better than, most other districts, it is more likely that the conclusion is correct.
Option A - Strengthen
The overall college attendance and test score data for the Perne school district puts it among the top 10% of school districts in the country.
This directly strengthens the conclusion that Weyland HS is a highly ranked school nationally because it indicates that the Perne district is better than most other districts nationally.
Option E - Weaken
The Perne school district as a whole contains mostly academically below average schools.
This option tells us that Perne's performance, relative to other districts, is overall below average and so weakens the conclusion.
The other options do not directly address the issue of Perne's performance relative to other districts, and so do not significantly strengthen or weaken the conclusion.
First Column: The correct answer is (A).
Second Column: The correct answer is (E).
