Question

Which of the following is an assumption underlying the author’s assessment of Nightingale’s creativity?

• A. Educational philosophy in Nightingale’s day did not normally emphasize developing children’s ability to observe.
• B. Nightingale was the first to notice the poor living conditions in British military barracks in peacetime.
• C. No educator before Nightingale had thought to enlist the help of village schoolmasters in introducing new teaching techniques.
• D. Until Nightingale began her work, there was no concept of organized help for the needy in nineteenth-century Britain

Answer 1

The correct option is A Educational philosophy in Nightingale’s day did not normally emphasize developing children’s ability to observe.

The best answer is A. In the last paragraph of the passage, the author presents two examples of Nightingale’s “brilliance and creativity.” In the first of these, the author compares Nightingale to “a modern educator” for counseling a village schoolmaster to encourage children’s powers of observation. The fact that the author believes that this is evidence of Nightingale’s creativity suggests that it was unusual at that time to emphasize developing children’s ability to observe. Choice B is not the correct answer. Nightingale’s efforts to improve conditions in British military barracks are not cited as evidence of her creativity, nor is it suggested that Nightingale’s counseling a village schoolmaster, not enlisting schoolmasters’ help; moreover, nothing in the passage suggests that educators had failed to enlist such help prior to the incident the author describes. Choice D is incorrect: although the author cites Nightingale’s contributions to the care of the needy, the passage does not suggest that no organized help for the needy existed before Nightingale began her work.