Some say that getting the right answer is the key to success; but is the success genuine if one doesn’t have the full knowledge to back it up? This is the question that teachers face when considering whether or not to give answers to tests out to their students ahead of time.

            “It would be an improvement on their grade book, but it would not on their gray matter,” commented Placer teacher John Adams.

            Adams has been known to give out the questions beforehand on occasion, but not the answers. He even tends to put questions from previous quizzes onto a test out of “sheer laziness”. However, before revealing the questions, Adams weighs the situation.

            “It depends on the class, depends on the need, and sometimes it’s a reward. But luckily for me, it benefits my students. Sometimes the best way is the easy way,” explained Adams.

            Some teachers argue that it’s a situational decision.

“There could be lots of motivation to that…it depends on the course,” commented Placer educator Rick Foley. “[In math], sometimes having the answer teaches the kid to self check. [I would not give out the answers on a regular basis] but I would like to tell them what I’m testing them on.”

            However, some teachers disagree with this practice altogether.

            “I don’t blatantly give out answers. I make them hunt for it. It’s important for kids to think about what we go over,” commented Placer teacher Shannon Spears.

            In Spears’s opinion, teachers who give out answers are merely “spoon-feeding” their students.

            “I’m not saying I’m not here to help, I’m definitely here to help,” Spears continued.

            However, some students differ in opinion from that of Spears’s.

            “It would be helpful but it also would encourage cheating,” stated senior Dylan Day.

            Day also expressed that though knowing the answers ahead of time would greatly boost GPAs, it would not be beneficial for students’ personal knowledge.

            “If they don’t give out the answers, then go over the questions with us,” explained senior Elia Rivas when proposing a happy medium.

            “I think it just depends if you need to do good or actually would want to pass…some kids would use it to their advantage. Personally, I do [want to learn]. I think it just depends on the kid,” argued junior Erin Ellner.

            Whether it’s in life or in homework, one has to weigh the condition carefully: would less work pay off? Or would that person just be cheating themselves? As the teachers and students of Placer High School, it all comes down to the situation.