What is Jonah’s main objection to the current rule for choosing students?
Listen to a Speaker Support an Opinion · ELPAC Grades 11–12 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
An extended conversation in which one classmate argues for an opinion, followed by four questions.
Listen to the conversation between Imani and Jonah. Then answer the questions.
College Classes for Seniors
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Imani: Jonah, are you really going to speak at the board meeting in favor of letting more seniors take classes at the community college?
Jonah: I am. Right now only twelve students a year are allowed into the program, and the district chooses them by grade point average.
Imani: That seems sensible to me. A college class is a lot harder. If a student who is struggling here fails a college course, it stays on a college transcript for good.
Jonah: That is a real risk, and I am not going to pretend it is not. But look at what the rule actually does. The students with the highest grades are the ones who would go to college anyway. The students the program could help most are the ones who have never pictured themselves in a college classroom, and the rule keeps every one of them out.
Imani: So you would let anyone sign up?
Jonah: I would let anyone apply, and require every applicant to meet with a counselor first, so the student and the counselor decide together whether the timing is right. If the worry is that some students are not ready, the answer is better advising, not a cutoff that decides for them.
The question
Choose the best answer.
What is Jonah’s main objection to the current rule for choosing students?
- It lets in too many students who are not ready for college work.
- Choosing by grade point average keeps out the students the program could help most.Correct answer
- The program costs the district too much money.
- Twelve students are too many for the community college to accept.
Why “Choosing by grade point average keeps out the students the program could help most.” is correct
This tests identifying the core of an argument. Jonah says the students with the highest grades would go to college anyway, while those who 'have never pictured themselves in a college classroom' are excluded by the rule. His proposal to let anyone apply follows from that objection.
Why the other answers are wrong
- It lets in too many students who are not ready for college work. — This is closer to Imani's concern than to Jonah's argument.
- The program costs the district too much money. — Cost is never mentioned by either speaker.
- Twelve students are too many for the community college to accept. — Jonah wants more students admitted, not fewer.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 11–12, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 11–12. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.
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