Beginning in 1997, High School Seniors in State Q have been required to Pass a Comprehensive Proficiency Exam

Question: Beginning in 1997, high school seniors in State Q have been required to pass a comprehensive proficiency exam before they are allowed to graduate. The exam requirement was intended to ensure that a minimum level of academic quality will be achieved by the students in the state. In 1997, 20 percent of the seniors did not pass the exam and were, therefore, not allowed to graduate. In 1998, the number of seniors who passed the exam decreased by 10% from the previous year.

The argument above, if true, LEAST supports which of the following statement.

1. If the percentage of high school seniors who passed the exam increased from 1997 to 1998 , the number of high schools seniors decreased during that time period.
2. If the percentage of high school seniors who passed the exam decreased from 1997 to 1998 , the number of high schools seniors increased during that time period.
3. Unless the number of high school seniors was lower in 1998 than in 1997, the number of seniors who passed the exam in 1998 was lower than 80 percent.
4. If the number of high school seniors who did not pass the exam decreased by more than 10 percent from 1997 to 1998, the percentage of high school seniors who passed the exam in 1998 was greater than 80 percent.
5. If the percentage of high school seniors who passed the exam in 1998 was less than 70 percent, the number of high school seniors in 1997 was higher than the number in 1998.

“Beginning in 1997, high school seniors in State Q have been required to pass a comprehensive proficiency exam” – is a GMAT critical reasoning topic. This GMAT Critical Reasoning topic has been taken from the book ‘Manhattan prep GMAT Critical Reasoning 6th Edition’. In this particular topic, candidates are asked to select the option that makes the same error as the author. In this question, the candidates need to provide an option that supports the error provided in the passage. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. Critical reasoning in GMAT requires candidates to find the argument's strengths and weaknesses or the logical flaw in the argument.  The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.

Answer: E
Explanation: Though this is a GMAT critical reasoning question, we need to consider x to solve the question. Considering x will make the question manageable to consider the logic/data points.

The question revolves around X. Now let us consider the given assumptions:

Option A: Incorrect 

If (0.72N) has to be greater than 80% of (0.72N + X)
Then (0.72N + X) ≤ 0.9 N. Therefore the total number of students are decreased. This option can be considered as well supported.

Option B: Incorrect

y(0.7N) < 80% ; Then (0.72N + X) > 0.9 N
Case (i) 0.9N≤ total students in 98≤ N (this statement is not well supportive)
Case (ii) total number of students is 98> N (this is well supported)

Option C: Incorrect

The contrapositive of ‘A’. This option can also be considered as well supported.

Option D: Incorrect

X < (0.9x 0.2N)
This implies that X < 0.9N
Students who passed >80%. This option can also be considered as well supported.

Option E: Correct

0.72N < 70% of (0.72N + N)
Then (0.72N + X) > approx. N
This option can also be considered as the least supported answer. Hence option E is the correct answer.

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