Question 120·Hard·Command of Evidence
Sociologist Marisol Chen and colleagues studied how adolescents’ household structure might relate to their sense of belonging at school. The researchers surveyed ninth-grade students from three household types—two-parent, single-parent, and multigenerational households—three times during the school year (start, midyear, and end). After analyzing the results, the researchers concluded that students in multigenerational households did not show smaller gains in school belonging over the year than students in the other household types.
Which choice best describes data from the graph that support the researchers’ conclusion?
For command-of-evidence questions tied to a graph, restate the conclusion in your own words and underline what must be shown (here, relative gains over time). Then use the graph to compute/compare only the relevant changes (first survey to last survey for each group). Avoid choices that use the wrong time window (start-to-midyear or midyear-to-end) or that switch to comparing final levels instead of gains.
Hints
Focus on what is being compared
The conclusion is about whether one group had smaller gains than others, not about which group had the highest score at a single time point.
Track changes across time
Look at the start-of-year bar and the end-of-year bar for each household type, then compare how much each group changes.
Make sure the time window matches the claim
“Over the year” refers to the change from the first survey to the last survey, not just one segment (start-to-midyear or midyear-to-end).
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the conclusion claims
The conclusion is about changes over time: students in multigenerational households did not show smaller gains in school belonging than students in two-parent or single-parent households.
Compare start-to-end changes for each group
Use the start-of-year and end-of-year bars for each household type.
- Two-parent: about to about (increase of about )
- Single-parent: about to about (increase of about )
- Multigenerational: about to about (increase of about )
So the multigenerational group’s gain is not smaller than the other groups’ gains.
Select the choice that states that evidence most directly
The correct choice is:
"Across the three survey administrations, mean school belonging scores rose for all household types, and the increase from the first to the last survey was at least as large for students in multigenerational households as it was for students in the other two household types."