Online students fail to think about future, cheating may leave them ill prepared for next school year

Pallavi Gorantla News Editor

The camera is off. The timer on the top left corner of the screen ticks down as your brain empties out in a tensed spiral. Your notebook is right next to you. What do you do? Your options are to take an educated guess or to do what has increased during distance learning: cheat.

Cheating has become easier in the virtual setting as we can hide behind our screens. Finding the answers is an easy decision to make but students fail to think about the future. For AP students, a more pressing matter is coming up: AP exams. The College Board put in restrictions to prevent any cheating from happening like forward navigation and all tests will be taken for that subject at the same time, no matter the time zone.

If you do not see the potential they have in a test setting, then failure becomes inevitable on the exam. College admission officers look at AP Exam scores and not just the class grade.

Apps and websites like CourseHero, Brainly, Chegg, provide answers for homework assignments. We are a simple search away from finding test and homework answers. The extent of technology makes it difficult to prevent anyone from looking up answers.

English II Pre-AP teacher Steffanie Alter said that one way to minimize cheating would be for teachers to emphasize application rather than memorization whenever possible.

“I also feel that emphasizing an honor system may not entirely curb cheating, but it certainly reminds both students and teachers that cheating is not just an academic misstep; it’s a reflection of individual integrity.”

Cheating has further consequences besides a zero in the gradebook. If students continue to cheat, they will not develop necessary test-taking skills like pacing and eliminating answers. This will affect high schoolers later during in-person learning and college entrance exams. Access to other devices is at the tip of a student’s hands, making it infinitely easier to cheat. Teachers have to rely on academic integrity which is not perfect 100 percent of the time.

Alter said that students who cheat will be ill-prepared for the content of their classes and their exams next year, although the risks extend far beyond the content knowledge itself.

“Learning, studying, test-taking, and selfpacing are all skills that one has to practice in order to perfect,” Alter said. “Students who cheat in an online environment are likely to lose much of their ability to use these less tangible skills.”

Asking for help and cheating are two different things. Especially online, it’s easier to hop in a private call with your teacher or go to office hours and ask for help. The resources exist, and although cheating might seem like the easier alternative, it will hurt more later than it may seem to help now.

For assignments like multiple-choice tests, it’s hard to tell for teachers if a student is doing the work by themselves or if they are consulting a friend and searching it up. Collaboration is an easy cheating tactic, along with taking a picture with your phone of a problem and getting an answer instantaneously.

“I focus on writing for a majority of my assessments, as this is both an important skill and an area in which cheating is not usually successful. I also try to incorporate modern poems and stories, which makes it more difficult to find online analysis,” Alter said. “When possible, I like to give small group assignments as well; students sometimes cheat out of desperation, not just laziness, and I hope that giving students authorized groups to work with can help them learn the material even if they don’t know a correct answer initially.”

The online setting has decreased overall productivity as collaboration among peers does not occur, along with not having a daily routine and being in one’s bedroom. For example, math classes are cumulative and the material taught to us is essential for them to know for the next level. Students taking calculus will need to sufficiently learn the concepts taught in pre-calculus to be successful in the class.

AP Statistics and Pre-AP Precalculus teacher Kay Kubena said there’s been evidence that students have turned in math tests in under 10 minutes that it would usually take 50 minutes to do.

“Students have also turned in tests with answers to problems that are structured in such a way that they have never been taught and so we know that students are using other resources to be able to get the answers other than their own brains,” Kubena said.

Using different notations to solve math problems is the first sign of cheating. Work is required on the free-response questions to see if the student knows how to get the answer and it’s checked to discourage teenagers from copying a website’s work.

“Human nature, in a stressful anxiety ridden situation, is so easy to fall back on. Student’s behaviors might not really reflect that person’s true moral compass or their actual value system because everyone is stressed out right now,” Kubena said. “I know that people who would have never cheated before in their lives might be tempted now just because of all the anxiety and stress.”

Kubena said that teachers would rather reteach and go more in-depth using tutorials than have students not understand the material and cheat. The consequence in the end is that we are not going to be prepared for next year’s syllabus.

“In terms of moving on to the next course, I know that it’s really easy to take the easy way out and it’s not like it would be surprising if anybody decided to use photomath, google something, text a friend, or whatever it might be,” Kubena said. “In the end they’re cheating themselves because it will show next year.”

She believes that it’s going to be hard for students and they’re probably going to have lower grades until they get back into the mode of being honest about their studies.

“It may be easier for students to cheat in an online environment compared to pre-COVID high school environments, but the online setup and constant technology access is very similar to what many students will experience in college,” Alter said. “Part of preparing for college and the post-school work world is not just learning the content itself, but also learning how to succeed in an environment where you’re responsible for your own success and academic integrity.”

The consequences of cheating will weigh you down more than however much that A uplifted you. Possible consequences include suspension and a 0 on a test can tank your average and ultimately affect your GPA. What’s more, you can’t get credit for your AP classes if you don’t pass the AP exam itself, so ultimately, it’s in the student’s best interest to dedicate their time to studying and using their potential.

“As teachers always warn students, the penalties for cheating in college, graduate school, or jobs are much more severe and unforgiving than those in high school. In high school, teachers discourage cheating because it means that the student isn’t learning,” Alter said. “Afterwards, cheating can result in significant grade drops, expulsion, or job loss; if a student normalizes cheating in high school, then it will be harder to avoid taking these dangerous “shortcuts” later on.”

Art by Aniket Panicker

THE GPA GAME

‘A game of chess’: How students play the GPA game

Mizuki Kai

Editor-in-Chief

High school’s a game of chess. Each student starts freshman year with a clean board. With expectations high, we’re thrown into this chaotic scene through which we must navigate with little guidance. Which pawn to move? Now, the knight? The Bishop? IPC, or Pre-AP Biology? It’s a tough game, but only because we’re not told how to play it. But, those who do know the rules can beat it with meticulous and cunning planning. In fact, it’s already been beaten, multiple times. In 2019, Bellaire had its first graduating class with a perfect 5.0 GPA valedictorian — in fact, two of them. Our school’s 64-year-streak since its opening in 1955 was suddenly broken twice in the same year. Unsurprisingly, this year’s senior class boasts perfect 5.0 GPA students. And, surprisingly, nine. Bellaire’s 2021 senior class will have nine valedictorians. I am not undermining or criticizing the effort these students put in to get there. As a fellow AP student, I’ve been there, done that. I’ve pulled one too many all-nighters for my first period physics test and drank one or two too many cups of coffee to finish my WHAP mental maps and Mr. Wolf’s syntax packets. I’m criticizing the system that perpetuates an unfair game of numbers that all just comes down to whether or not you were handed the player’s manual the summer before high school. Yes, the summer before. Actually, even before that. Middle school. Those who take their art credit in middle school don’t have to take it in high school. Art is often the credit that puts back the average Bellaire AP student in his or her mission for a high GPA — those that take classes like theater, choir or dance, whether out of passion or necessity, are only able to attain a 4.0 credit. The only 5.0 credit art courses at Bellaire are AP Music Theory or Pre-AP Art 1, neither of which are friend- ly to a non-artist non-musician.

So, it’s comschool crucial that you plete your high art credit in middle school. Of course, that’s not something you’re told. The summer before high school, students can take health and PE to get the required credits out of the way. These courses are only offered as 4.0 classes, but taking them before freshman year ensures they won’t count toward your GPA. Once you’ve done both, you’re set on your path to a perfect 5.0 GPA. Students grovel for four years, finding any way possible to climb up the GPA ladder. It’s tons of pressure, expectations, and for some, self-motivation that pushes them to do so. GPA and rank are crucial parts of a college application. It’s like the queen. It’s not the most important piece of the game, but without a good one, your game’s practically over. But, what further intensifies the fight for a higher GPA is the 6 percent rule. The top 6 percent rule gives automatic admission to Texas seniors to UT Austin. This means that those who rank in the top 6 percent of their class are guaranteed a spot at Texas’ #1 public university. In the 1990s, the “Top 10 Percent Rule” was put in place to require all Texas universities to admit any Texas senior at the top 10% of their class. In 2011, UT Austin reduced this number to 7 percent , and most recently, in 2019, to 6%. These figures clearly highlight the increased competitiveness of college admissions. In fact, the University of Chicago’s acceptance rate fell from 38% to 7.2% in 12 years. Stanford’s numbers dropped from 11% to 4.3%. The digitalization of college applications and the surge in students who choose to go to college severely augmented the competitiveness of college admissions. This trend is also seen at Bellaire, where the race to top 6 percent has intensified. Now, your future could be determined by a hundredth of your GPA. It’s not an understatement to say that a single B in Ms. Wilson’s chemistry class your sophomore year could boot your pawn out of the game. College admissions officers use class ranks to evaluate a student’s academic performance relative to the rest of the school, unlike GPA which considers different factors that make it difficult for comparison. You can’t just do well. You have to do better than your peers. This mentality creates a toxic environment that hinders learning — students are encouraged to take harder AP courses that may not fit their skill level or do not interest them, rather than taking courses that spark intellectual curiosity and growth. Because of this, students choose AP Computer Science Principles instead of Guitar or Intro to Culinary Arts. According to US News, though 90 percent of Lamar students take AP courses, only 16 percent have passed at least one. At Bellaire, the numbers are 62 percent and 49 percent % respectively. This shows that Bellaire’s AP courses are academically rigorous and will prepare you for your May exams. It also means that Bellaire’s AP program is incredibly competitive. Students choose to opt out of sports because it also only offers 4.0 credits. Why should students have to pick between numbers that could possibly change their future, or playing a sport or instrument they truly enjoy? The game’s full of loopholes and shortcuts, and a lot of it is based on strategy. I confess that I’ve fallen into the same hole that many of my peers have. I quit orchestra after middle school so I wouldn’t have an extra 4.0 class. I took eight classes my junior year for the slight GPA boost. I reflect back on my four years, and I think of the hours of studying and drowning in work. We all rush to take the king, whether that path was pre-planned, difficult or arbitrary. And, once we’re there, we feel immense burnout. Some of us go in not knowing the game, and some of us — those with older siblings or friends — go in with a detailed game plan. Yet, all of us are pieces in this game of chess. Even if you play a perfect GPA game with great strategy and precision, nothing is guaranteed. You can’t save yourself a spot at your dream college. You might miss out on certain parts of the high school experience. You come out, only to realize the game swallowed you whole. Checkmate. So, did you win, or did you lose? It’s up to you to decide.