A school district implemented a new educational software package, expecting it to significantly improve student test scores within one academic year. After the year, test scores remained largely unchanged. The software vendor claims that the lack of improvement is due to insufficient teacher training on the new software. Which of the following, if true, would most effectively disprove the vendor's remedial claim?
- AA similar school district that implemented the same software with extensive teacher training also saw no improvement in test scores.
- BStudent engagement with the new software, as measured by login frequency, was significantly lower than anticipated.
- CThe software vendor charges an additional fee for comprehensive teacher training modules.
- DTeacher feedback surveys indicated that the software was difficult to integrate into existing lesson plans.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. A similar school district that implemented the same software with extensive teacher training also saw no improvement in test scores.
The vendor claims insufficient training is the reason for failure. If another district with *extensive* training also saw no improvement, it suggests that training level is not the critical factor, thus disproving the vendor's specific remedial claim that more training would have fixed the problem.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Low student engagement is an alternative explanation for the software's ineffectiveness, but it doesn't directly disprove the vendor's claim that *insufficient teacher training* was the problem.
- C. This is relevant to the vendor's business practices but does not disprove their claim about the cause of the software's failure.
- D. This supports the idea that the software had issues (difficulty of integration), which could be related to training needs, but doesn't directly disprove that training itself was insufficient.
Disproving a Remedial Claim
To disprove a remedial claim means to introduce information or evidence that directly contradicts the proposed solution or explanation for a problem, showing it is incorrect or ineffective.
- Focus on the specific solution or cause offered by the remedial claim.
- Provide evidence that the proposed remedy does not work, even when applied.
- Show that the problem persists or is unaffected by the proposed solution, or that the presumed cause is not accurate.
Memory trick: SOLUTION: Scrutinize Outcomes, Look Underneath, Test If Only One Option Needed, Identify Other Necessary factors.