LSAT Explanation PT 38, S1, Q11: Some teachers claim that students would

LSAT Question Stem

The reasoning in the argument is flawed because the argument 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Flaw question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is E. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

First, let's analyze the argument in the passage. The argument's structure consists of a few premises and a conclusion. Here's a breakdown:

Premise 1: Some teachers claim that students would not learn curricular content without the incentive of grades.

Premise 2: Students with intense interest in the material would learn it without this incentive.

Premise 3: The behavior of students lacking all interest in the material is unaffected by such an incentive.

Conclusion: The incentive of grades, therefore, serves no essential academic purpose.

Now, let's consider an "Evaluate" question for this argument: "Are there students who fall between the categories of being intensely interested and completely uninterested in the curricular material?"

Moving on to the question type, it is a Flaw question, which means we need to identify the flaw in the reasoning of the argument.

Let's go through each answer choice:

a) The argument does not take for granted that the only purpose of school is to convey a fixed body of information to students. It only discusses the incentive of grades and its effect on learning curricular content.

b) The argument does not assume that students who are indifferent to grades are genuinely interested in the curricular material. It actually distinguishes between students with intense interest and those lacking all interest.

c) While the argument does focus on the academic purpose of grades, the passage is specifically concerned with the essential academic purpose, so considering nonacademic purposes would be out of scope.

d) The argument does not ignore the possibility of students choosing their own curricular material, but this is not the main flaw in the reasoning. The main flaw is related to the categories of student interest.

e) This answer choice correctly identifies the flaw in the argument. The argument fails to consider that some students may be neither fascinated by nor completely indifferent to the subject being taught. This middle ground of students might be influenced by the incentive of grades, which would mean that the incentive does serve an essential academic purpose.

Therefore, the correct answer is E. The argument is flawed because it does not consider students who fall between the two extremes of interest in the curricular material, and how the incentive of grades might affect them.