【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】Argument Evaluation
Situation In Sondland's public schools this academic year, the number of students is one percent higher and the number of teachers three percent higher than they were last academic year. For this reason, the Sondland Education Commission's prediction of a teacher shortage as early as next academic year is questionable.
Reasoning What evidence would most weaken support for the claim that there will be no teacher shortage next academic year? A teacher shortage will arise next academic year if the number of teachers needed will exceed the number of teachers employed. This will happen if the number of teachers needed increases without a sufficient increase in the number employed, or if the number employed decreases without a sufficient decrease in the number needed. Evidence that either or both of these changes will occur next academic year is evidence that the predicted shortage will occur, so any such evidence will weaken support for the claim that the prediction is unfounded.
A Increased funding will likely allow more teachers to be hired but will not necessarily increase the need for teachers, so it does not support the prediction of a teacher shortage (and indeed it very slightly undermines the prediction). Also, the funding is expected to increase over ten years, not necessarily next year. Furthermore, we are not told who expects this increase or why. Their expectation may be unjustifiable.
B A salary increase at the rate of inflation is equivalent to no change in the salary's actual value. The absence of a change in real salary in the past academic year does not by itself support any prediction of a change in the number of teachers needed or employed next academic year.
C Correct. The schools will need a lot more teachers next academic year to satisfy this mandate. It may be difficult for the schools to hire enough teachers in time. This provides at least some reason to predict that a teacher shortage will result.
D This means the number of students per teacher has been generally declining. It does not suggest that next academic year the number of teachers needed will increase, nor that the number employed will decrease.
E This does support the prediction that a shortage of trained teachers will arise eventually. But the declining number of students in teacher-training programs next academic year probably will not reduce the number of teachers available to teach during that same year.
The correct answer is C.