Roman's Math scores improved over two quarters. Which sentence best describes this change?

Roman's Math scores improved over two quarters. Which sentence best describes this change?

• A. Roman's Math scores have been improved.
• B. Roman's Math scores have improved.
• C. Roman's Math scores will have improved.
• D. Roman's Math scores had improved.

Answer: (B)

The key idea here is using the present perfect to describe a change that happened over a period leading up to now. Roman's Math scores have improved conveys that, at some time during the two quarters, the scores increased, and that improvement is still the case today. It focuses on the change as something that occurred in the past but matters now. The other forms don’t fit the situation. A passive construction like “have been improved” suggests someone else did the improving to Roman’s scores, which isn’t what’s described. A future perfect like “will have improved” looks ahead to a time in the future, not to what happened over the two quarters. A past perfect like “had improved” places the improvement before another past moment, which isn’t indicated here.

The key idea here is using the present perfect to describe a change that happened over a period leading up to now. Roman's Math scores have improved conveys that, at some time during the two quarters, the scores increased, and that improvement is still the case today. It focuses on the change as something that occurred in the past but matters now.

The other forms don’t fit the situation. A passive construction like “have been improved” suggests someone else did the improving to Roman’s scores, which isn’t what’s described. A future perfect like “will have improved” looks ahead to a time in the future, not to what happened over the two quarters. A past perfect like “had improved” places the improvement before another past moment, which isn’t indicated here.