In Hill Dale High School, the percentage of students with grades above...
In Hill Dale High School, the percentage of students with grades above 80 percent is higher in the junior class than in the senior class, but the percentage of students with grades above 90 percent is higher in the senior class.
Which of the following must be true on the basis of the statements above?
Argument Analysis
Pre-Thinking
Conclusion Clarification
N/A
Pre-Thinking Approach
The question asks us to find a statement which must be true if the information given in the passage is true.
Let’s take a small example with numbers in order to draw inferences.
Suppose the number of students in Junior and Senior classes is 50 and 100 respectively. Let’s further divide this number so that the condition given in the passage is true:
As you can see the 3rd column satisfies the condition that % of students with grades > 80% is higher in JC whereas the last column satisfies the condition that % of students with grades > 90% is higher in SC. Now let’s divide the proportion of students scoring above 80% in two categories:
- Those between 80 and 90%
- Those above 90%
Doing so would help us visualize the information clearly.
Table A
Now if the proportion of students in JC scoring above 80% is higher than that in SC but the proportion is lower in case of students scoring above 90%, then there must be students in JC who are scoring between 80 and 90%. The table above illustrates this. If this weren’t so, i.e. if there were no students in JC scoring between 80 and 90%, then the table would look like this:
Now the last column doesn’t satisfy the information given in the passage that proportion of students scoring >90% grades is higher in SC. Therefore, our earlier understanding is correct that there must be some students in JC who have grades between 80 and 90%.
Please note that the example quoted here is only to explain the passage more clearly and we should focus only on the proportions mentioned in the table and not on the absolute numbers as they can be quite different from the ones given in the table and any inference regarding a comparison of absolute numbers might not hold. The table given below illustrates this point by reversing the number of students in JC and SC.
With this understanding in mind, let's take a look at the option statements.
Answer Choices
A
The average class grade of the senior class is higher than that of the junior class.
Incorrect - No information given
The information regarding average class grade cannot be inferred as the passage only talks about students scoring above 80%.
B
The number of students with grades above 80 percent is greater in the junior class than in the senior class.
Incorrect - No information given
We can’t infer any comparative information regarding absolute numbers as the passage only talks about proportions.
C
The number of students with grades lower than 80 percent is greater in the senior class than in the junior class.
Incorrect - No information given
We can’t infer any comparative information regarding absolute numbers as the passage only talks about proportions.
D
Some students in the junior class have grades between 80 percent and 90 percent.
Correct
This is same as the understanding we reached during the pre-thinking phase.
E
The number of students with grades above 90 percent is higher in the senior class than in the junior class.
Incorrect - No information given
We can’t infer any comparative information regarding absolute numbers as the passage only talks about proportions.