A study question tests whether you can draw a supported conclusion from a program’s results. Read the sentence with the blank to see what it asks you to infer, then name what changed and what happened afterward. If several features changed together, you can’t tell which one caused the result. Track each result separately, because one measure may change while another stays the same. Check how far the claim goes: ask whether a conclusion reaches beyond the people and time studied.
Hints
- Hint 1
Compare the homework students received before and during the pilot. Look for which features changed together.
- Hint 2
Read the teachers’ observations and the sentence about average test scores as one set. Ask what conclusion accounts for all the results together.
Step-by-step
Compare the program’s results
Step 1Name the changes
The pilot replaced daily worksheets with twice-weekly projects that students could choose from, and the blank asks what educators should infer from the results. What changed besides how often homework was assigned? Students got projects rather than worksheets and gained a choice of work. That means the program changed several things together, so we can’t say one feature alone caused the results.
- Step 2
Separate the results
Which results changed, and which stayed the same? Teachers saw fewer missing assignments and more thorough explanations in submitted work, so work was being completed and explained more fully. Students who often left homework incomplete also participated more in discussions, a sign of greater engagement. The report says Average test scores stayed the same, so the gains were in students’ work and participation, not higher scores.
- Step 3
Keep the conclusion limited
How strong a claim can a pilot at several middle schools support? The pilot supports what’s possible, not what must happen everywhere. The choice using can keeps that limit and includes both less frequent homework and students’ choices, so it doesn’t say either feature alone caused the results. By pairing maintain test scores with increasing engagement and completion, it includes both results without inventing a score gain. Choice C.