SAT OwlQuestion bank / Cross-Text Connections
Text 1: Many teachers believe that students learn more when they work in groups. Explaining ideas to classmates, these teachers argue, deepens each student's understanding.
Text 2: Education researcher Paulo Mendes compared hundreds of student groups. He found that group work helped students learn only when each member was responsible for a distinct part of the task. In groups without such roles, one or two students usually did most of the work, and the others learned little.
Based on the texts, how would Mendes most likely respond to the teachers' belief in Text 1?
He would reject the belief because his findings show that students learn best when working alone.
He would accept the belief only for groups in which every member has a clear responsibility.
He would argue that explaining ideas to classmates never improves understanding.
He would agree that any kind of group work improves learning.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
Mendes found group work helped only when each member had a distinct role; otherwise most members learned little. He would agree with the teachers only under that condition, choice B.
Choice A overcorrects. Mendes found group work did help when members had clear roles.
Why the other choices are wrong
- A. Mendes found group work helped when members had distinct roles, so he wouldn't say working alone is always best.
- C. Mendes doesn't dismiss explaining ideas to peers. He identifies when group work succeeds.
- D. Groups without clear roles left most members learning little, so not every kind of group work helps.
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