Tips: Notice whose idea each choice describes. A report often repeats other people's ideas, so check who actually holds each one.

Why the other options are wrong:

• It could help some students, but only through optional pilots where learning gaps are widest.: Optional pilots in communities with the widest learning gaps are what some people suggest. The speaker reports this idea but does not make it a personal condition. Rather than mandating year-round schooling province-wide, they suggest targeted pilots in communities where learning gaps are widest, combined with optional participation. Year-round schooling could help certain students to some extent, but only if provinces invest in infrastructure, consult educators, and allow flexibility.
• It could help some students, but only if schools keep the same total number of teaching days.: Teachers' organisations mention that total teaching days may stay the same. The speaker never makes this a condition. They point out that while total instructional days may stay the same, the mental reset provided by a long summer break is difficult to replicate. Year-round schooling could help certain students to some extent, but only if provinces invest in infrastructure, consult educators, and allow flexibility.
• It could help some students, but the academic arguments for it are too weak to act on.: The speaker does not call the academic arguments weak. In fact, the speaker says they have merit. While I see merit in the academic arguments, I'm cautious about broad implementation.

Correct Answer: Teaching days may stay the same, but shorter breaks may not give the mental reset of a long summer.

Why this is correct: Teachers' organisations accept that total teaching days may stay the same. Their worry is that shorter breaks cannot replace the mental reset of a long summer.

Tips: Listen for what the teachers accept and what they worry about. Check both parts of each choice.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Teaching days may rise, and shorter breaks may not give the mental reset of a long summer.: The teachers do not say teaching days will rise. They say the total may stay the same. They point out that while total instructional days may stay the same, the mental reset provided by a long summer break is difficult to replicate.
• Teaching days may stay the same, but hot classrooms in summer may wear teachers out.: The heat problem in older buildings is a separate cost issue. The teachers' reason is the lost mental reset, not hot classrooms. Many older school buildings lack adequate cooling, and running them through hotter months could raise costs for already stretched school boards. They point out that while total instructional days may stay the same, the mental reset provided by a long summer break is difficult to replicate.
• Teaching days may rise, and hot classrooms in summer may wear teachers out.: Both parts are wrong. Teachers say days may stay the same, and their reason is the lost mental reset. They point out that while total instructional days may stay the same, the mental reset provided by a long summer break is difficult to replicate. Many older school buildings lack adequate cooling, and running them through hotter months could raise costs for already stretched school boards.

Correct Answer: Shorter breaks make it easier to keep math and literacy skills, especially for younger students.

Why this is correct: Dr. Rousseau says shorter breaks help students keep math and literacy skills. She adds that this is especially true in the early grades.

Tips: Several speakers support year-round schooling for different reasons. Match each reason to the person who gives it.

Why the other options are wrong:

• A steady calendar helps keep daily routines, especially for lower-income students.: Daily routines come from the advocates, and lower-income students come from the Statistics Canada figure. Dr. Rousseau talks about skills and the early grades. Advocates say that more consistent scheduling helps maintain routines and supports working families who struggle to find affordable summer childcare. Supporters argue that this model could reduce what educators call the "summer slide." According to a Statistics Canada analysis frequently cited by school boards, students from lower-income households can lose up to two months of reading progress over a long summer. An education researcher at the University of Alberta, Dr. Mélanie Rousseau, has suggested that shorter breaks make it easier for students to retain math and literacy skills, especially in the early grades.
• Shorter breaks make it easier to keep math and literacy skills, especially for lower-income students.: The skills part is right, but Dr. Rousseau points to the early grades. Lower-income students are part of the Statistics Canada figure. Supporters argue that this model could reduce what educators call the "summer slide." According to a Statistics Canada analysis frequently cited by school boards, students from lower-income households can lose up to two months of reading progress over a long summer. An education researcher at the University of Alberta, Dr. Mélanie Rousseau, has suggested that shorter breaks make it easier for students to retain math and literacy skills, especially in the early grades.
• A steady calendar helps keep daily routines, especially for younger students.: The early grades part is right, but routines are the advocates' point. Dr. Rousseau talks about keeping math and literacy skills. Advocates say that more consistent scheduling helps maintain routines and supports working families who struggle to find affordable summer childcare. An education researcher at the University of Alberta, Dr. Mélanie Rousseau, has suggested that shorter breaks make it easier for students to retain math and literacy skills, especially in the early grades.

Correct Answer: She liked the cheaper travel in fall and winter, but planning camps and family time got harder.

Why this is correct: The neighbour liked the fall and winter breaks because travel was cheaper. But the constant schedule changes made it harder to plan camps and family time.

Tips: Listen for what the neighbour liked and what she found difficult. Check both parts of each choice.

Why the other options are wrong:

• She liked the cheaper travel in fall and winter, but the shorter breaks did not give her children a real rest.: She never says her children lacked rest. The lost mental reset is the teachers' worry, not hers. They point out that while total instructional days may stay the same, the mental reset provided by a long summer break is difficult to replicate. She appreciated the fall and winter breaks, which allowed for cheaper travel, but she also found that constant schedule changes made it harder to plan camps and family time.
• She liked the easier summer childcare, but planning camps and family time got harder.: Easier summer childcare is what advocates say about the model. The neighbour liked the cheaper travel in fall and winter. Advocates say that more consistent scheduling helps maintain routines and supports working families who struggle to find affordable summer childcare. She appreciated the fall and winter breaks, which allowed for cheaper travel, but she also found that constant schedule changes made it harder to plan camps and family time.
• She liked the easier summer childcare, but the shorter breaks did not give her children a real rest.: Both parts are wrong. Childcare is the advocates' point, and the lost reset is the teachers' worry. Advocates say that more consistent scheduling helps maintain routines and supports working families who struggle to find affordable summer childcare. She appreciated the fall and winter breaks, which allowed for cheaper travel, but she also found that constant schedule changes made it harder to plan camps and family time.

Correct Answer: Concerned that the change-over to a new calendar can be hard on families.

Why this is correct: The speaker takes the story seriously but does not overstate it. It does not prove the model fails, but it shows the transition can be disruptive.

Tips: Listen to how the speaker comments on the story, not only to what the neighbour felt.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Concerned that the new calendar will keep being hard on families in the long run.: The speaker's concern is about the transition period, not about a problem that lasts. Her story doesn't prove the model fails, but it does highlight how disruptive the transition period can be.
• Sceptical, since a single family's story says very little about the model.: The speaker is not dismissive. The story does not prove failure, but it does show how disruptive the change can be. Her story doesn't prove the model fails, but it does highlight how disruptive the transition period can be.
• Hopeful, since the neighbour liked parts of the new calendar.: The neighbour liked some of the new breaks, but the speaker draws a warning from her story, not hope. She appreciated the fall and winter breaks, which allowed for cheaper travel, but she also found that constant schedule changes made it harder to plan camps and family time. Her story doesn't prove the model fails, but it does highlight how disruptive the transition period can be.

Correct Answer: The speaker probably lives in Calgary.

Why this is correct: The speaker talks about 'a neighbour of mine in Calgary'. A neighbour lives near you, so the speaker most likely lives in Calgary too.

Tips: Places can be named for many reasons. Listen for the place the speaker links to their own life.

Why the other options are wrong:

• The speaker probably lives in Toronto.: Toronto is only an example in the middle-ground idea. The speaker never links it to their own home. Generally speaking, this approach recognises that what works in downtown Toronto may not suit a rural district in northern Ontario. A neighbour of mine in Calgary had two children attend a pilot year-round school.
• The speaker probably lives in northern Ontario.: Northern Ontario is only an example of a rural district. The speaker never says they live there. Generally speaking, this approach recognises that what works in downtown Toronto may not suit a rural district in northern Ontario. A neighbour of mine in Calgary had two children attend a pilot year-round school.
• The speaker probably lives in Peel Region.: The speaker quotes a trustee from Peel Region. Quoting someone does not mean the speaker lives there. As one trustee in Peel Region noted, extending air-conditioning use is not a small budget line; it could mean cutting other programmes. A neighbour of mine in Calgary had two children attend a pilot year-round school.