Official Explanation

Step 1: Identify the Question Type

The words “weaken” and “if true” indicate that this is a Weaken the Conclusion question. Look for the conclusion made by the “educational experts.”

Step 2: Deconstruct the Argument

The argument is concerned with how public school teachers are compensated. According to the argument, educational experts claim that a system of teacher compensation based on performance rather than seniority would help to retain exceptional teachers and maintain quality instruction. What are the experts assuming? Can “performance” actually be measured in a meaningful way? Should it be based on how much the students like the teacher? A fun but incompetent teacher might be beloved by students. A challenging teacher might receive lower teacher ratings even though his students learn more.

Step 3: State the Goal

The correct answer to this Weaken question will make the experts’ conclusion at least a little less likely to be valid.

Step 4: Work from Wrong to Right

(A) Slash. The fact that other factors also contribute to job satisfaction and teaching performance neither weakens nor strengthens this argument. Either way, the teachers are getting paid; the issue is whether that pay should be based on performance or seniority.

(B) Slash. Nothing in the argument indicates that one universal system of compensation must be adopted in order to implement this plan. It is very possible that several effective models of performance-based pay could be developed and implemented successfully.

(C) Strengthen. This choice indicates that many young, effective teachers are extremely frustrated by the traditional pay structure, in which financial advancement is directly tied to seniority. This bolsters the experts’ argument: these young but effective teachers who are leaving the profession might stay longer if they had better opportunity for advancement based on performance.

(D) CORRECT. Weaken. This choice indicates that collaboration among teachers is integral to highquality instruction and that a system of compensation based on teacher performance reduces collaboration. Thus, the effect of a merit-based system of pay might undermine quality instruction, which is one of the two stated goals of the educational experts.

(E) Strengthen. The educational experts’ argument in favor of performance-based compensation is bolstered if standardized test scores have dramatically risen in school districts that have instituted such pay structures.

Answer: D