I’m confused with the grammar in this question. What result does the clause “hundreds of … further education” describe?
Is it the fact that the commission criticized the legislature? In this case, this is a good thing so the blank should be something good isn’t it?
Or is it the fact that the legislature makes college attendance dependent on tuition? In this case, I agree that C is the correct answer.
The key clause to focus on is:
“…charging that, as a result, hundreds of qualified young people would be_____further education.”
Here, “charging that” means that the commissions are making an accusation or claim about something. The thing they are “charging” or claiming is that “as a result [of the legislature making college attendance dependent on the ability to pay], hundreds of qualified young people would be_____further education.”
The “result” being described is the outcome of the legislature’s decision to make college attendance dependent on the ability to pay. The blank will indicate the fate or outcome for these “hundreds of qualified young people” in relation to “further education.”
Given the negative tone of “criticized” and “charging that,” we can infer that the blank should be filled with something negative about the young people’s access to further education. A possible fill for the blank could be “denied” – suggesting that because of the legislature’s decision, many qualified young people would be denied further education due to their inability to pay.
So, the sentence doesn’t describe a good result because of the commission’s criticism. Instead, the commission is criticizing a negative outcome (young people being denied education)