The 2020-21 school year began with the continuation of a global pandemic. Due to the coronavirus, South students are either learning from home full-time as part of the virtual model or coming to school in the mornings and finishing classes at home in the hybrid model. 1,400 WW-P students have recently been transferred to the full-virtual model according to an article on NJ.com.

      Because teachers cannot monitor students during tests as in the face-to-face classroom, students can easily violate student integrity without repercussions. 

     “Cheating and distractions always kind of happened in school, too,” said senior Annie Klugerman. “It’s just you can’t really control it as easily when kids are at home.”

     Still, students should take accountability for their actions, because they ultimately make the decision to take tests fairly and avoid distractions during class. Teachers can offer countermeasures to stop them from violating student integrity, but there are limits when school is online.

      “Some of my teachers have been […] locking their quizzes and texts and using sites like GoFormative,” said sophomore Mahalakshmi Jagadesan. GoFormative is a website that allows teachers to monitor and set a timer for online assessments.

     Yet outside the view of the cameras, students could be using their phones and information from the internet. 

     “If they give an assessment it is nearly impossible for the teacher to be sure that they don’t get answers from others,” said American Studies teacher Mr. Walter Conner.

     Students may also face technical difficulties or other situations where they cannot use their cameras, so it is their own responsibility to make sure they are taking assessments in the way that teachers intended them to be.

     “It is [the student’s] duty to not violate student integrity,” sophomore Swathi Kiran said.

     One incentive that motivates students to avoid getting distracted or cheat is the school environment. Physically going to school, being in a classroom and sitting at a desk can help students concentrate on schoolwork. But because this is not always possible, especially for students who follow the all-virtual model, they can try to simulate it by eliminating distractions. 

     “If I did [schoolwork] in my room, maybe with my desk and I closed the door and didn’t have any other people distracting me it might help,” Klugerman said.

     Choosing to actively pay attention during Zoom classes and online work can greatly help their education. 

     Students who are not distracted or multitasking during class have higher test scores than those who are, according to a report in Anatomical Sciences Education, a journal covering topics such as neuroscience and life sciences. The material covered in class is not always sent to students afterward, so it is crucial to pay attention and take notes. 

     Cheating on graded tests and quizzes can also be done much more easily now, but students will ultimately bear the repercussions. 

     “The long term consequences of cheating are loss of reputation, the effect on your grade if you get caught and the possibility that this could become a personality trait and develop into a serious life-long problem,” said Mr. Conner.

     Test scores that reflect your true knowledge can be a key to understanding your own strengths and weaknesses, as well as a way for your teachers to gauge your understanding of a subject.

     “When you put your own effort in to understand and learn, you actually learn something,” said Jagadesan. “You’re restating it to yourself so you won’t forget it.”

     Teachers and administrators have done as much as possible to make sure students do not violate student integrity. Now, it is up to students to be responsible for their own learning.