WGU D265 Critical Thinking: Reasoning and Evidence | Objective
Assessment 2026/2027 Complete Objective Assessment |
Actual Questions & Verified Answers | Critical Thinking
Competency Exam | Pass Guarantee
Section 1 – Evaluating Arguments (Questions 1-15)
Passage 1
Instagram post, 15 Jan 2026
@CleanAirNow: “Denver’s air-quality alerts hit ‘Unhealthy’ again today. We must shut
down the Suncor refinery tomorrow or Colorado will never meet EPA standards.”
1. The argument’s conclusion is:
A. Denver’s air-quality alerts are “Unhealthy.”
B. Colorado will never meet EPA standards.
C. We must shut down the Suncor refinery tomorrow.
D. Refineries cause all unhealthy-air days.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The post moves from a factual premise (current alert level) to a prescriptive
claim—what “we must” do. C is the only imperative statement and thus the conclusion.
A is a premise; B is a prediction used as a negative consequence; D is neither stated nor
implied.
Passage 2
,Podcast transcript, “Mind & Market,” 12 Jan 2026
Host: “Company X’s stock doubled after it adopted four-day workweeks. Any firm that
wants to double its stock should adopt four-day workweeks.”
2. Which choice best identifies the unstated assumption?
A. Investors generally reward workplace innovations.
B. A four-day workweek was the sole cause of the stock rise.
C. Doubling stock value is desirable for every firm.
D. Company X is representative of all industries.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The host treats the stock jump as entirely attributable to the policy change.
Without that causal assumption (B), the recommendation does not follow. A is too
general; C is background, not operative; D is closer but the argument needs exclusive
causality, not mere representativeness.
Passage 3
Text-thread between roommates
Sam: “We failed to water the basil for two weeks; it’s dead.”
Jules: “See? Basil can’t survive without sunlight.”
3. Jules’s reply relies on the premise that:
A. Sunlight is irrelevant to plant survival.
B. The basil died because it lacked sunlight.
C. Watering is unnecessary for basil.
D. The plant was exposed to adequate sunlight.
Correct Answer: D
,Rationale: Jules blames lack of sunlight, so must assume sunlight was absent;
otherwise the death could still be due to lack of water. D supplies that implicit premise.
B merely restates the conclusion; A and C contradict botanical facts and are not
attributed to Jules.
Passage 4
Local op-ed, 8 Jan 2026
“Last year the city installed 20 speed bumps on Maple Ave. and traffic fatalities dropped
35 %. Clearly, speed bumps save lives, so we should install them on every residential
street.”
4. Which statement expresses the argument’s main conclusion?
A. Traffic fatalities dropped 35 % on Maple Ave.
B. Speed bumps save lives.
C. We should install speed bumps on every residential street.
D. Maple Ave. is a residential street.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The editorial begins with evidence and an intermediate claim (“speed bumps
save lives”) but ultimately advocates a policy for all streets. The imperative “should”
signals the final conclusion.
Passage 5
Tweet, 5 Jan 2026
@TechTeacher: “70 % of my coding-bootcamp grads land jobs within 6 months.
Enroll—our curriculum works!”
, 5. The stated premise is:
A. The curriculum is the best available.
B. 70 % of grads are employed within 6 months.
C. Coding bootcamps are worth the tuition.
D. Employment depends on possessing a certificate.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Only the 70 % employment statistic is offered as explicit evidence. Everything
else is conclusion or assumption.
Passage 6
Conversation
Parent: “You came home past curfew, so you’re grounded.”
Teen: “That’s unfair; nobody else has a curfew.”
6. The teen’s response challenges:
A. The factual premise that curfew was broken.
B. The assumption that curfew rules are reasonable.
C. The conclusion that grounding should follow.
D. The evidence that other parents are lenient.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: By pointing to peers’ treatment, the teen questions the fairness
(reasonableness) of the rule itself, i.e., its normative assumption, not the facts or the
logical link once the rule is granted.
Passage 7
Newsletter, Green Valley HOA, 3 Jan 2026
Assessment 2026/2027 Complete Objective Assessment |
Actual Questions & Verified Answers | Critical Thinking
Competency Exam | Pass Guarantee
Section 1 – Evaluating Arguments (Questions 1-15)
Passage 1
Instagram post, 15 Jan 2026
@CleanAirNow: “Denver’s air-quality alerts hit ‘Unhealthy’ again today. We must shut
down the Suncor refinery tomorrow or Colorado will never meet EPA standards.”
1. The argument’s conclusion is:
A. Denver’s air-quality alerts are “Unhealthy.”
B. Colorado will never meet EPA standards.
C. We must shut down the Suncor refinery tomorrow.
D. Refineries cause all unhealthy-air days.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The post moves from a factual premise (current alert level) to a prescriptive
claim—what “we must” do. C is the only imperative statement and thus the conclusion.
A is a premise; B is a prediction used as a negative consequence; D is neither stated nor
implied.
Passage 2
,Podcast transcript, “Mind & Market,” 12 Jan 2026
Host: “Company X’s stock doubled after it adopted four-day workweeks. Any firm that
wants to double its stock should adopt four-day workweeks.”
2. Which choice best identifies the unstated assumption?
A. Investors generally reward workplace innovations.
B. A four-day workweek was the sole cause of the stock rise.
C. Doubling stock value is desirable for every firm.
D. Company X is representative of all industries.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The host treats the stock jump as entirely attributable to the policy change.
Without that causal assumption (B), the recommendation does not follow. A is too
general; C is background, not operative; D is closer but the argument needs exclusive
causality, not mere representativeness.
Passage 3
Text-thread between roommates
Sam: “We failed to water the basil for two weeks; it’s dead.”
Jules: “See? Basil can’t survive without sunlight.”
3. Jules’s reply relies on the premise that:
A. Sunlight is irrelevant to plant survival.
B. The basil died because it lacked sunlight.
C. Watering is unnecessary for basil.
D. The plant was exposed to adequate sunlight.
Correct Answer: D
,Rationale: Jules blames lack of sunlight, so must assume sunlight was absent;
otherwise the death could still be due to lack of water. D supplies that implicit premise.
B merely restates the conclusion; A and C contradict botanical facts and are not
attributed to Jules.
Passage 4
Local op-ed, 8 Jan 2026
“Last year the city installed 20 speed bumps on Maple Ave. and traffic fatalities dropped
35 %. Clearly, speed bumps save lives, so we should install them on every residential
street.”
4. Which statement expresses the argument’s main conclusion?
A. Traffic fatalities dropped 35 % on Maple Ave.
B. Speed bumps save lives.
C. We should install speed bumps on every residential street.
D. Maple Ave. is a residential street.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The editorial begins with evidence and an intermediate claim (“speed bumps
save lives”) but ultimately advocates a policy for all streets. The imperative “should”
signals the final conclusion.
Passage 5
Tweet, 5 Jan 2026
@TechTeacher: “70 % of my coding-bootcamp grads land jobs within 6 months.
Enroll—our curriculum works!”
, 5. The stated premise is:
A. The curriculum is the best available.
B. 70 % of grads are employed within 6 months.
C. Coding bootcamps are worth the tuition.
D. Employment depends on possessing a certificate.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Only the 70 % employment statistic is offered as explicit evidence. Everything
else is conclusion or assumption.
Passage 6
Conversation
Parent: “You came home past curfew, so you’re grounded.”
Teen: “That’s unfair; nobody else has a curfew.”
6. The teen’s response challenges:
A. The factual premise that curfew was broken.
B. The assumption that curfew rules are reasonable.
C. The conclusion that grounding should follow.
D. The evidence that other parents are lenient.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: By pointing to peers’ treatment, the teen questions the fairness
(reasonableness) of the rule itself, i.e., its normative assumption, not the facts or the
logical link once the rule is granted.
Passage 7
Newsletter, Green Valley HOA, 3 Jan 2026
