Community colleges have become essential partners in workforce development, offering specialized training programs that respond directly to local econ...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Community colleges have become essential partners in workforce development, offering specialized training programs that respond directly to local economic needs. When manufacturers in a region need skilled technicians, community colleges develop certificate programs in industrial maintenance. When healthcare systems face nursing shortages, they create accelerated nursing programs with guaranteed job placement. This responsiveness distinguishes community colleges from four-year universities, which typically maintain more static curricula focused on broad academic disciplines rather than immediate employment needs. The flexibility to adapt quickly to changing job markets has made community colleges increasingly valuable to both students seeking practical skills and employers needing trained workers.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
To encourage more students to choose community colleges over four-year universities
To explain why community colleges are better suited for workforce training than universities
To highlight the distinctive role of community colleges in meeting local workforce demands
To describe the various types of programs offered by community colleges
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Community colleges have become essential partners in workforce development, offering specialized training programs that respond directly to local economic needs.' |
|
| 'When manufacturers in a region need skilled technicians, community colleges develop certificate programs in industrial maintenance.' |
|
| 'When healthcare systems face nursing shortages, they create accelerated nursing programs with guaranteed job placement.' |
|
| 'This responsiveness distinguishes community colleges from four-year universities, which typically maintain more static curricula focused on broad academic disciplines rather than immediate employment needs.' |
|
| 'The flexibility to adapt quickly to changing job markets has made community colleges increasingly valuable to both students seeking practical skills and employers needing trained workers.' |
|
Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Community colleges play a distinctive role in workforce development by responding quickly and flexibly to local economic needs, which sets them apart from traditional universities.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes community colleges as essential workforce development partners, then demonstrates this through concrete examples of responsive programming. It contrasts this flexibility with universities' more rigid approach, concluding that this responsiveness makes community colleges increasingly valuable to both students and employers.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage consistently focuses on what makes community colleges unique in workforce training
- The author wants us to understand their distinctive characteristic - responsiveness to local needs
- The examples, contrast with universities, and final significance statement all support this central idea
- The right answer should capture that community colleges have a special role in meeting workforce demands through their flexibility and local responsiveness
To encourage more students to choose community colleges over four-year universities
- This suggests the passage is trying to persuade students to make an educational choice
- The passage doesn't encourage or advocate - it explains and describes a role
- What trap this represents: Students might confuse explaining something's value with advocating for it
To explain why community colleges are better suited for workforce training than universities
- While the passage does contrast CC with universities, this focuses too narrowly on comparison/superiority
- The main purpose is broader - describing CC's distinctive role, not proving they're 'better suited'
- What trap this represents: Focusing on the comparison element rather than the overall descriptive purpose
To highlight the distinctive role of community colleges in meeting local workforce demands
- Matches our prethinking perfectly - focuses on the distinctive role
- 'Highlight' captures the descriptive, explanatory tone of the passage
- 'Meeting local workforce demands' captures the core responsiveness theme that runs throughout
- Encompasses all the passage elements: examples, contrast, and significance
To describe the various types of programs offered by community colleges
- Too narrow - the passage mentions some programs but this isn't the main focus
- The purpose isn't to catalog program types but to explain CC's unique role in workforce development