Defenders of standardized testing argue that such tests provide the only consistent measure of student achievement across schools. Critics counter that the tests measure narrow skills that correlate with socioeconomic background. A third group accepts both points: the tests really do measure something consistent, but what they measure may be largely unrelated to the educational outcomes that justify giving them.
Which choice best describes the function of the third sentence in the text?
- Acheck_circle
It synthesizes the prior positions by partly accepting both while reframing the dispute.
- B
It rejects both the defenders' and critics' positions outright.
- C
It introduces an entirely separate testing system.
- D
It restates the defenders' argument in different terms.
Explanation
The third position accepts consistency (defenders) and the relevance worry (critics) and reframes the question. B captures this synthesis.