Learning disabilities in elementary students often manifest clearly during structured classroom activities. In less formal educational settings, howev...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Learning disabilities in elementary students often manifest clearly during structured classroom activities. In less formal educational settings, however, these same challenges tend to be much less ______, prompting educators to use targeted diagnostic assessments to identify students who may need additional support.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
problematic
concerning
evident
serious
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Learning disabilities in elementary students often manifest clearly during structured classroom activities." |
|
| "In less formal educational settings, however, these same challenges tend to be much less ______," |
|
| "prompting educators to use targeted diagnostic assessments to identify students who may need additional support." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Learning disabilities that are obvious in structured classroom environments become much harder to detect in informal educational settings.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes that learning disabilities are clearly visible in structured classroom activities, then contrasts this with how the same challenges become much less detectable in informal settings, which explains why educators need special diagnostic tools to identify students who need help.
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 sets up a clear contrast: learning disabilities "manifest clearly" in structured settings BUT are "much less ______" in informal settings
- Since "manifest clearly" means they're obvious and easy to see, the missing word needs to mean something similar to "clear" or "obvious" to maintain the logical contrast
- The word also needs to make sense with why teachers then need "targeted diagnostic assessments" - if the disabilities are much less [word] in informal settings, that would explain why special tests are needed to identify struggling students
problematic
- "Problematic" refers to how much trouble something causes
- Doesn't create the right contrast with "manifest clearly"
- The issue isn't that disabilities cause less trouble in informal settings - they're still the same challenges for the student
concerning
- "Concerning" refers to how worried people should be about something
- Misses the core point about visibility and detection
- The disabilities don't become less worrisome in different settings - they're still the same serious challenges
evident
- "Evident" means clear, obvious, or easily seen - exactly what we need
- Creates perfect contrast: "manifest clearly" vs "much less evident"
- Explains why diagnostic tests are needed: if disabilities are less evident in informal settings, teachers need special tools to detect them
serious
- "Serious" refers to the severity or importance of something
- The disabilities don't become less severe in informal settings - they remain the same level of challenge