Tests return to paper after a school year of being online

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Ella Murray

Students in all grades use both chromebooks and physical textbooks to work on lessons.

Ella Murray, Staff Writer

In the previous 2020-2021 school year, all tests and assignments were done online, which not only affected the students grades and learning abilities, but also the teachers. 

Due to not all students being able to attend school fully in person and other students staying fully remote, teachers were unable to give out physical paper tests. Almost all testing was done on the student chromebooks and at home.

Math teacher, Ann Marie Dorgan said, “Testing last year was really hard because math was done online and we couldn’t see if the kids at home understood the process of what we were teaching.”

Between having kids only coming into school on certain days and also having fully remote students, testing was hard because teachers were unable to meet all the needs of their students. Being unable to see completed work made helping struggling students difficult.

“Testing on paper has so many benefits; we can give them credit for questions even if they do not give the correct answers. We can see the process of what they are doing and see if they are understanding what they need to do first,” Dorgan said.

Multiple teachers not only at Lemont, but at other schools are able to agree that testing on physical paper is a lot better than testing online. The benefits of testing on paper outweigh the benefits of testing on chromebooks.

Sophomore Izzy Carnaghi said, “I prefer to have a test on paper. I feel like I understand the questions a lot more and personally I feel that I do better on paper tests.”

Even though some students say that they prefer online tests and being remote because of the benefits of using outside resources, others believe that testing on actual paper helps them focus and perform better overall.