Question

read the excerpt from mother tongue.

those tests were constructed around items like fill - in - the - blank sentence completion, such as \even though tom was __, mary thought he was __.\ and the correct answer always seemed to be the most bland combinations of thoughts, for example, \even though tom was foolish, mary thought he was ridiculous.\ well, according to my mother, there were very few limitations as to what tom could have been and what mary might have thought of him. so i never did well on tests like that.

which information from the excerpt best supports the inference that achievement tests ignore imagination as an element of language ability?

• tans mother would not be able to answer a question like the one described in the excerpt.
• tans mother could think of several ways to answer a question like the one described in the excerpt.
• tans mother did not allow her to take tests with questions like the one described in the excerpt.
• tans mother was disappointed that tan did poorly on tests with questions like the one described in the excerpt.

Explanation:

To support the inference that achievement tests ignore imagination, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: Focuses on Tan's mother's ability to answer, not imagination in tests. Eliminate.
• Option 2: The excerpt says "there were very few limitations as to what Tom could have been and what Mary might have thought of him" (implying imagination in possible answers), and if Tan's mother could think of several ways (showing imaginative possibilities), while the test had a "most bland" correct answer, this shows the test ignores imagination. This fits.
• Option 3: Talks about not allowing tests, not about imagination in tests. Eliminate.
• Option 4: Discusses disappointment over poor performance, not imagination in tests. Eliminate.

Answer:

B. Tan's mother could think of several ways to answer a question like the one described in the excerpt.