Command of Evidence: Quantitative

SAT Reading and Writing· difficulty 4/5

Researchers tested four study techniques on the same students. They recorded short-term recall (24 hr later) and long-term recall (1 month later), in % of facts retained: Technique I, 80% short / 30% long; Technique II, 65% short / 55% long; Technique III, 72% short / 35% long; Technique IV, 60% short / 58% long. The researchers concluded that techniques with the highest short-term recall are not necessarily the best for long-term retention. The data most uniquely supporting this counterintuitive claim is ______

Which choice most logically completes the text using the data above?

  • A

    the rank reversal: Technique I has highest short-term recall (80%) but the lowest long-term recall (30%); Technique IV has lowest short-term but highest long-term.

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  • B

    the average recall across techniques.

  • C

    Technique IV's lowest short-term recall (60%).

  • D

    Technique I's high short-term recall.

Explanation

The claim is that short-term ranking misleads about long-term ranking. Choice B captures the rank reversal—the same data point that uniquely supports the counterintuitive conclusion.

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