The number of applications for teaching positions in Newtown's public schools was 5.7 percent lower in 1993 than in 1985...

GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions

Source: Official Guide

Critical Reasoning

Paradox

MEDIUM

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Notes

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The number of applications for teaching positions in Newtown's public schools was 5.7 percent lower in 1993 than in 1985 and 5.9 percent lower in 1994 than in 1985. Despite a steadily growing student population and an increasing number of teacher resignations, however, Newtown did not face a teacher shortage in the late 1990's.

Which of the following, if true, would contribute most to an explanation of the apparent discrepancy above?

Many of Newtown's public school students do not graduate from high school.

New housing developments planned for Newtown are slated for occupancy in 1997 and are expected to increase the number of elementary school students in Newtown's public schools by 12 percent.

The Newtown school board does not contemplate increasing the ratio of students to teachers in the 1990's.

Teachers' colleges in and near Newtown produced fewer graduates in 1994 than in 1993.

In 1993 Newtown's public schools received 40 percent more applications for teaching positions than there were positions available.

Solution

Passage Analysis:

Text from Passage	Analysis
The number of applications for teaching positions in Newtown's public schools was \(5.7\%\) lower in 1993 than in 1985 and \(5.9\%\) lower in 1994 than in 1985.	What it says: Fewer people applied to teach in Newtown - applications dropped by about 6% from 1985 to both 1993 and 1994 What it does: Sets up a concerning trend about declining teacher interest What it is: Statistical data/factual premise Visualization: 1985: 100 applications → 1993: 94 applications → 1994: 94 applications
Despite a steadily growing student population and an increasing number of teacher resignations, however, Newtown did not face a teacher shortage in the late 1990's.	What it says: Even though more students needed teachers AND more teachers were quitting, there still wasn't a teacher shortage later What it does: Creates a puzzle by adding factors that should make the teacher situation worse, yet claiming no shortage occurred What it is: Author's claim presenting a contradiction Visualization: Students ↑↑ + Teacher resignations ↑↑ + Applications ↓↓ = Should equal teacher shortage, but actually = No shortage

Argument Flow:

The passage presents what seems like an impossible situation. We start with declining teacher applications, then learn that student numbers were growing and teacher resignations were increasing - all factors that should create a teacher shortage. But then we're told no shortage actually happened. This creates a mystery that needs explaining.

Main Conclusion:

There's an apparent discrepancy - Newtown should have had a teacher shortage given all the negative factors, but somehow didn't experience one in the late 1990s.

Logical Structure:

This isn't a traditional argument with premises supporting a conclusion. Instead, it's a puzzle presentation. The author is saying 'Here are facts that don't seem to fit together logically' and asking us to figure out what could explain this seeming contradiction. The logical structure is: Problem factors + Unexpected outcome = Need for explanation.

Prethinking:

Question type:

Paradox - We need to resolve the apparent contradiction between declining applications + growing student population + increasing resignations versus no teacher shortage occurring

Precision of Claims

Quantitative claims about application percentages (\(5.7\%\) and \(5.9\%\) decreases), qualitative claims about student population growth and resignation increases, and the definitive claim that no shortage occurred in late 1990s

Strategy

For paradox questions, we need to find information that explains how all the given facts can be true simultaneously. We're looking for factors that could offset the negative trends (fewer applications, more students, more resignations) to prevent a teacher shortage. We cannot question any of the stated facts - applications did decline, student population did grow, resignations did increase, and no shortage did occur.

Answer Choices Explained

Many of Newtown's public school students do not graduate from high school.

This choice doesn't address the teacher shortage issue at all. Whether students graduate affects educational outcomes, but it doesn't explain how declining applications and increasing resignations failed to create a teacher shortage. We need information about teacher supply, not student academic performance.

New housing developments planned for Newtown are slated for occupancy in 1997 and are expected to increase the number of elementary school students in Newtown's public schools by 12 percent.

This choice actually makes the paradox worse, not better. If more students are coming in \(1997\), this would increase demand for teachers and make a shortage more likely, not less likely. This contradicts our need to explain why no shortage occurred.

The Newtown school board does not contemplate increasing the ratio of students to teachers in the 1990's.

This choice is neutral at best. Maintaining current ratios doesn't explain how they managed to avoid shortages when facing declining applications and increasing resignations. It doesn't provide additional teacher supply or reduce teacher demand.

Teachers' colleges in and near Newtown produced fewer graduates in 1994 than in 1993.

This choice makes the paradox even more puzzling. Fewer teaching graduates would mean fewer potential applicants, which should worsen the teacher shortage problem. This goes in the wrong direction for resolving our paradox.

In 1993 Newtown's public schools received 40 percent more applications for teaching positions than there were positions available.

This perfectly resolves the paradox! Even though applications declined by \(5.7\%\) from \(1985\) to \(1993\), there was still a substantial surplus - \(40\%\) more applications than needed. This cushion could easily absorb the declining trend, accommodate growing student population, and replace resigning teachers without creating a shortage. The key insight is that the baseline in \(1985\) must have been very high to allow for both a decline and still maintain surplus.

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