Data released by the Department of Education regarding the rate (percentage) of ninth-grade students that don't graduate showed that out of 50 states,
16 states had an increase in the dropout rate during the past 2 years.

18 states had a dropout rate of at least 30% during the past 2 years.

20 states had an increase in the dropout rate and/or a dropout rate of at least 30% during the past 2 years.

How many states had a dropout rate that was less than 30% but that had increased over the 2-year period?

A) 14
B) 32
C) 30
D) 2
E) 4

Question

Data released by the Department of Education regarding the rate (percentage) of ninth-grade students that don't graduate showed that out of 50 states, ​
16 states had an increase in the dropout rate during the past 2 years.
​
18 states had a dropout rate of at least 30% during the past 2 years.
​
20 states had an increase in the dropout rate and/or a dropout rate of at least 30% during the past 2 years.
​
How many states had a dropout rate that was less than 30% but that had increased over the 2-year period?
​
A) 14
B) 32
C) 30
D) 2
E) 4

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Given that 20 states had either an increase in dropout rate or a dropout rate of at least 30%, it implies that 30 states did not meet either condition. Since 16 states had an increase and 18 had a rate of at least 30%, but only 20 states are accounted for in these categories combined, it means there's an overlap of 14 states (16 + 18 = 34, but only 20 states are mentioned, so 34 - 20 = 14). Therefore, only 2 states (16 - 14) had an increase in the dropout rate but did not reach the 30% threshold.

Data Released by the Department of Education Regarding the Rate