The coronavirus has had a big impact on students’ education at Greeley West and a big fraction of students are failing. The decline in grades could be attributed to the fact that the learning environment has changed so much.

Grade point averages this year could negatively be affected by quarantine and misrepresent what the student is capable of learning. “I don’t feel like my grades are as good as they would’ve been if I was in school 100% of the time because it’s harder to learn when I’m looking at a screen for an hour and a half each class,” said Alejandro Verdugo.

Alternatively, Hugo Meraz and Evert Carmona said they felt like their grades were a good representation of their knowledge and efforts. Yet, Verdugo and Meraz agreed that the amount of time on the computer was draining. 

Staying focused is one of the biggest problems with online school because there aren’t any teachers or even parents for most students at home to make sure we are doing our work. And lots of students could agree. “Some distractions are my bed, video games and my phone,” said Meraz.

“It’s hard to stay concentrated during class, it feels optional since I’m not at school,” said Verdugo.

Carmona says he has had a problem staying motivated as well. Verdugo and Carmona said a part time job also made school a bit harder. Motivation and busy work also made school harder. 

Lastly, final grades this year are not a good representation of what most students actually learned or are capable of learning.  There are so many differences in their learning environment. Not all circumstances at home for students are good so grades don’t always show how smart one is.