LSAT 112 – Section 4 – Question 11

LSAT 112 - Section 4 - Question 11

December 2001

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT112 S4 Q11
+LR
+Exp
Weaken +Weak
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
84%
167
B
4%
159
C
2%
157
D
8%
164
E
1%
156
127
142
157
 +Medium 142.561 +SubsectionEasier

High school students who feel that they are not succeeding in school often drop out before graduating and go to work. Last year, however, the city’s high school dropout rate was significantly lower than the previous year’s rate. This is encouraging evidence that the program instituted two years ago to improve the morale of high school students has begun to take effect to reduce dropouts.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that the program to improve high school morale is working. Why? Because students who think they are failing tend to drop out, and the dropout rate last year was much lower than the previous year.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes there’s no other reason last year’s dropout rate was abnormally low or the previous year’s dropout rate was abnormally high. In addition, she assumes a higher school morale makes students more likely to think they’re succeeding, and that there’s no other reason besides the program for morale to have improved.

A
There was a recession that caused a high level of unemployment in the city.
This suggests dropout rates last year were low because there were fewer opportunities for employment. It offers an alternative explanation for the improving dropout rate that doesn’t depend on the morale-boosting program.
B
The morale of students who dropped out of high school had been low even before they reached high school.
This doesn’t mean the program to improve morale failed. It’s possible the program improved the morale of some students who entered high school with low morale, and that those students therefore didn’t drop out.
C
As in the preceding year, more high school students remained in school than dropped out.
This doesn’t mean the change in dropout rate was insignificant. The author does not suggest a dropout rate is high only if more than half of current students drop out.
D
High schools in the city established placement offices to assist their graduates in obtaining employment.
This is not necessarily an incentive for students to stay in school. Students who see themselves struggling may not expect to graduate anyway, making these placement offices for graduates a poor motivator for them.
E
The antidropout program was primarily aimed at improving students’ morale in those high schools with the highest dropout rates.
This is irrelevant. It’s not stated whether schools with the largest dropout rates experienced any improvement—only that the city’s overall dropout rate improved.

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LSAT PrepTest 112 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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