Passage Cracking the Code
Cracking the Code
(1) Computer code is part of every electronic interaction, from video games to home thermostats to vehicle GPS systems. (2) Code is a language that computers can interpret, and programmers use it to instruct computers to perform different tasks, such as finding, sorting, or calculating data. (3) People who code have to learn this language. (4) They can construct programs that will perform detailed tasks. (5) The programs can also perform complex tasks.
(6) A coding language uses letters, numbers, and symbols that are arranged in a way that makes sense to a computer. (7) The code that makes up a program tells a computer how to process information. (8) Studying a coding language involves learning the rules for combining phrases and instructions so that they are recognizable to the computer. (9) Once a person understands coding rules, the possibilities for applying them are infinite.
(10) Coding skills are becoming important in many occupational fields. (11) For example, code can be used to create programs to track, analyze, and predict changes in the stock market. (12) Code can also be designed to help doctors track and monitor a patient’s health. (13) Jobs that require coding skills are typically higher paying, offering salaries that are up to as much as $22,000 a year more than jobs that do not require coding knowledge.
(14) People have a variety of opportunities to learn how to code. (15) In some schools, young people can study computer science and coding just as they study foreign languages. (16) Computer science teachers can use websites and apps that employ games designed to help everyone understand how code works. (17) Even high school students who do not take computer science can learn coding by attending coding workshops and online classes or by watching tutorials online. (18) After studying the basics of coding, some students may become interested in learning how to create programs, such as games and apps.
(19) The late Steve Jobs, a pioneer in computer technology, once said, “Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer . . . because it teaches you how to think.” (20) Learning to code can seem challenging, but one does not need to become an expert programmer to reap the benefits of understanding this language.
Question
Which concluding sentence would best follow sentence 20 and support the argument presented in the passage?
- APeople should understand that knowing how to code is becoming an essential requirement for most high-paying jobs.
- BBy understanding basic coding concepts, people can participate in an increasingly digital marketplace.
- CStudents who want to secure a high-paying job in the technology industry should become proficient in coding.
- DSince coding is a valuable marketplace skill, today’s students should begin to write their own computer programs.
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks which concluding sentence would best follow sentence 20 and support the argument presented in the passage.
A. Incorrect. While the passage does state that “jobs that require coding skills are typically higher paying” (sentence 13), it does not say or imply that coding skills are needed for most high-paying jobs.
B. CORRECT. The sentence successfully summarizes the main argument of the passage, which is that coding is involved in all electronic interaction (sentence 1) and is a useful skill to master, especially in many occupational fields (sentence 10).
C. Incorrect. In the fourth paragraph, the passage does promote students taking advantage of opportunities to learn coding; however, this information is a supporting detail and would not serve as a strong conclusion to the argument presented in the passage.
D. Incorrect. Some readers may choose this sentence because the fourth paragraph discusses how “some students may become interested in learning how to create programs, such as games and apps” (sentence 18), but this detail is only one part of the overall argument in the passage.
Question analysis
To finish “Cracking the Code,” a short argument for learning to code, students must pick the concluding sentence that would best follow sentence 20. Several options grow from details the passage does mention, such as higher pay and students creating programs, so each ending must be weighed against the passage as a whole.
- NYS standards
- 7W1e concluding an argument
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Choosing an ending that sums up a whole argument is ordinary grade 7 revising work. The passage is short and clear; what takes care is that each option is linked to something real in the passage, so overreach must be spotted.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence in several places moderate
- The right answer is reworded minor
- How sentences fit together minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 357 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 79 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Each tempting ending starts from something the passage really says, about better pay, students or making programs, so each feels grounded. What separates them is scale: one inflates better pay into a requirement for most good jobs, and two shrink a case made for everyone into advice for students. Holding on to sentence 20, that understanding the basics is enough, removes most of them at once.
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
A closing line has to gather points made far apart: code runs everyday devices (sentence 1), many occupations need it (sentence 10), anyone can learn it (paragraph 4) and a basic grasp is enough (sentence 20). (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
The right answer is reworded minor Choosing the answer
The best ending speaks of “basic coding concepts” and an “increasingly digital marketplace,” words the passage never uses, while the others recycle sentence 13’s higher pay or sentence 18’s student-made programs. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
How sentences fit together minor Working it out
The ending must follow sentence 20, which says no one has to become an expert programmer, so a call for proficiency or for writing programs clashes with the line just before it. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976)
Strategy: Note what sentence 20 says about becoming an expert, then test each ending twice: does it fit the passage as a whole, and does it stay within what the passage claims?
Traps
- Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
- Too broad or too strong: A choice overstates, generalizes, or uses absolute words the text does not support.
The wrong answers, classified
A Too broad or too strong (King et al., 2004)
Starts from sentence 13’s higher salaries for coding jobs and inflates them into coding being “an essential requirement for most high-paying jobs,” a claim the passage never makes.
C Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Is caught by “high-paying job,” but it speaks only to students aiming at the technology industry and demands proficiency, which sentence 20 says no one needs.
D Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Builds on sentence 18’s students who go on to create games and apps, so it closes the passage on one detail of paragraph 4 instead of its case for everyone.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for the best concluding sentence, the one that would end the passage. It must follow sentence 20 smoothly. It must also sum up the argument, the passage’s main point. A good ending doesn’t claim more than the passage shows. It also doesn’t shrink to one small detail. For example, an essay on sleep might end: Getting enough sleep helps you think, grow and stay well.
Reread sentence 20
Sentence 20 says “one does not need to become an expert programmer to reap the benefits of understanding this language.” An expert is someone with great skill. To reap the benefits means to get the good things that come from something. So even a basic understanding of coding helps. The last sentence should build on that.
List the passage’s main points
- Code is part of everything electronic, from video games to GPS (sentence 1).
- Coding skills matter “in many occupational fields,” or kinds of jobs (sentence 10).
- Anyone can find ways to learn (paragraph 4).
- Even a basic grasp pays off (sentence 20).
Check each choice
- A does not fit. Sentence 13 says coding jobs are “typically higher paying.” It never says coding is required for “most high-paying jobs.” That claims too much.
- B fits. “Basic coding concepts” matches sentence 20. A marketplace is the world of buying, selling and jobs. Digital means run by computers. So B ties together code being everywhere and its use in many jobs.
- C does not fit. It speaks only to students who want tech jobs. Proficient means highly skilled, which sentence 20 says you don’t need to be.
- D does not fit. Writing your own programs is one detail from sentence 18. It is not the whole argument.
Choose the answer
Watch out: A sounds like a strong ending, and it grows out of sentence 13. But paying more is not the same as being required. Only B follows sentence 20 and fits the whole passage. So the answer is B.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong answer. It starts from a real fact: coding jobs usually pay more. But it stretches that into a rule for “most high-paying jobs,” which the passage never says. B stays within the passage. A basic grasp of coding helps people take part in a world of work that runs on computers.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Cracking the Code” as printed (page 40)
