PSAT Reading & Writing Question of the Day

The columnist insists that rising transit ridership caused last year's decline in downtown traffic, but the city's own logs attribute most of the drop to months of roadwork and staggered work schedules. In interviews, the columnist offered no data to reconcile these discrepancies, and subsequent independent reports replicated the city's findings. In light of the evidence, the claim is _______.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?