Question

(6) the school board should reconsider its plan and use that large amount of money on something more important than sports—academics.

(7) though sports are fun and bring positive recognition to the school, the school board needs to remember that schools were created to educate young people. (8) our school has a 33 percent dropout rate. (9) our school also has low scores on the state tests. (10) this year, 65 percent of our eleventh graders were ranked as \unsatisfactory\ based on their state test scores. (11) the school should make academic standards its first priority and use some of the $20 million on intervention programs to help the schools struggling students receive a better education.

(12) i understand why the school board felt the need to place such high importance on the football stadium. (13) because the football team has won three state championships over the past five years, attendance at the games has gone up more than 200 percent. (14) our current stadium was built in 1954. (15) it does not have the capacity to hold that many attendees. (16) tearing down the current stadium to build a

18

which of these is the best supporting detail to add to the second paragraph?

a. school board member jonathan winters led the committee that drafted the proposal.
b. the attendance at the last homecoming game broke the previous record of 10,000 people.
c. the new stadium will have press rooms, coaches offices, and a team lounge with a tv.
d. over the past five years, only 55 percent of graduating seniors have gone to college.

Explanation:

Analyze the second paragraph

Using the Textual Evidence Analysis knowledge point
The second paragraph consists of sentences (12) through (16) on the left:

• (12) "I understand why the school board felt the need to place such high importance on the football stadium."
• (13) "Because the football team has won three state championships over the past five years, attendance at the games has gone up more than 200 percent."
• (14) "Our current stadium was built in 1984."
• (15) "It does not have the capacity to hold that many attendees."
• (16) "Tearing down the current stadium to build a..."

This paragraph explains the school board's reasoning for wanting a new stadium: the team's success, a massive increase in game attendance, and the outdated, low-capacity nature of the current 1984 stadium.

Evaluate the answer choices

We need a detail that directly supports the main idea of this second paragraph (the need for a new, larger, and updated stadium due to high attendance and outdated facilities).

• Option A: "School board member Jonathan Winters led the committee that drafted the proposal." This is an administrative detail that does not support the physical need for a new stadium.
• Option B: "The attendance at the last homecoming game broke the previous record of 10,000 people." This directly supports the claim in sentence (13) that attendance has risen dramatically and sentence (15) that the current stadium lacks the capacity to hold all the attendees.
• Option C: "The new stadium will have press rooms, coaches' offices, and a team lounge with a TV." While this describes the new stadium, it focuses on luxury amenities rather than the core argument of capacity and high attendance presented in the second paragraph.
• Option D: "Over the past five years, only 55 percent of graduating seniors have gone to college." This academic statistic belongs in the first paragraph, which argues that money should be spent on academics rather than sports.

Therefore, Option B is the best supporting detail for the second paragraph.

Answer:

• A. School board member Jonathan Winters led the committee that drafted the proposal
• B. The attendance at the last homecoming game broke the previous record of 10,000 people. (Correct answer)
• C. The new stadium will have press rooms, coaches' offices, and a team lounge with a TV.
• D. Over the past five years, only 55 percent of graduating seniors have gone to college.