Question

Argument: 

"Introducing mandatory coding courses in schools will significantly improve students' problem-solving abilities." 

Question: 

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

Hint:

When weakening an argument, target the causal link. Show that the proposed cause does not lead to the predicted effect—or that the effect can occur without the cause.

Answer 1

The argument assumes that coding directly leads to improved problem-solving ability. To weaken it, we must show either that: 
1. Coding does *not* improve problem-solving skills, or 
2. Any observed improvement is due to some *other* factor, not coding itself. 

A strong weakening statement would be: 
"Studies show that students who take coding classes do not perform better on general problem-solving assessments than students who take traditional math or logic courses." 

This undermines the argument by showing that coding does not uniquely or significantly enhance problem-solving skills.