Final answer:
The correct form is 'Two-thirds of the students were commuters.' It's important to analyze survey data carefully, considering the full context, to draw accurate conclusions about students' time spent in school and commuting behaviors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sentence in question, 'Two-thirds of the students was/were commuters,' requires the proper use of the verb to agree with the subject. Here, the subject is 'two-thirds of the students,' which refers to a plural quantity, therefore the correct verb is 'were'.
The interpretation of survey results about student behaviors such as commuting, attendance, and demographics should be analyzed carefully to understand the actual patterns and not to jump to conclusions about truancy or time spent in school without considering the full context of the data collection.
For instance, identifying that two-thirds of students commute does not imply truancy but reflects the ratio of commuting students. Similarly, surveys conducted around the clock provide a snapshot at various times, and if one-third of students are found in school on average, we can deduce that youths spend roughly that proportion of their time in school settings.