Explanation
Correct answer: A.
Choice A is the best answer because it presents a statement that, if true, would most directly support the claim that the number of young people who speak Hawaiian has increased because of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo school. The text explains that Native Hawaiian teachers founded the school to help preserve the Hawaiian language by teaching it to children at a time when an increasing number of Native Hawaiians were speaking English instead. If it is true that when ‘Aha Pūnana Leo was founded fewer than fifty children could speak Hawaiian and that now over 2,000 students at the school can speak it, that would directly demonstrate that the school’s efforts have led to a greater number of young people speaking Hawaiian.
Why the other choices are wrong
Choice B
Choice B is incorrect because information about the total number and location of Native Hawaiian people in a single year wouldn’t reveal anything about the number of young speakers of Hawaiian (particularly since the text indicates that not all Native Hawaiians speak Hawaiian) or about the effect of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo school on that number, so it wouldn’t have any bearing on the text’s claim.
Choice C
Choice C is incorrect because the fact that Hawaiian is similar to Tahitian, Samoan, Māori, and other languages of the Polynesian Islands wouldn’t reveal anything about the number of young speakers of Hawaiian or the effect of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo school on that number, so it wouldn’t have any bearing on the text’s claim.
Choice D
Choice D is incorrect because information about non–Native Hawaiian people from Pacific Islander communities living in Hawai‘i today wouldn’t reveal anything about the number of young speakers of Hawaiian or the effect of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo school on that number, so it wouldn’t have any bearing on the text’s claim.