Valentina Baldini , Arts and Tech Editor
Featured graphic by Veronica Gass
As the semester reaches an end, a familiar sense of pressure settles over students. Library rooms book out, coffee consumption skyrockets, and late-night study sessions blur into early morning panic. But to what extent are midterms and finals actually beneficial for students? From sleepless nights trying to memorize nine months of learning to mounting anxiety, students question if these exams are necessary. So, should we comply with these tests, or completely get rid of them all together for the benefit of the students?
Midterms and finals are cumulative tests that take place at the end of each semester. They differ from normal tests because they include everything students have learned that year, giving teachers the opportunity to see if their students truly understand the subject. “My goal with midterms and finals is to make the students stitch together components of the class that they never had to before,” said Psychology and Anthropology teacher Jonathan Schwartz. “So for me, it’s not about multiple choice questions so much as it is about developing essays and short answers that requires students to attach something from very early in the semester to something important we learned later.”
The part of midterms and finals that confuses students and teachers the most is the grade weighting it comes with. Students will spend weeks studying, completing heavy study packets and going through chapter upon chapter in their textbooks, only for the test to be ten percent of their semester grades. “I think for midterms and finals to have the effect that is most beneficial for students, they have to be worth more than our school currently makes them,” Dr. Schwartz said. “Because we’ve reduced the ability to attach a significant grade to midterms and finals, I encourage my students not to worry about them as much as they do unit exams and in class work, because they rarely change their grades.”
As a senior with an extremely packed schedule, Zoey Hull believes midterms aren’t overly stressful and she finds ways to balance school and her extracurriculars. “Because I’m already admitted into college, I feel like that took a lot of my stress off of midterms, so I was comparatively less stressed this year rather than past year,” she said. “However this year I found myself cramming studying in the days before the midterms more than ever, just because there were a lot of tests and projects leading up to the midterms.”
“Since I dance everyday after school, I have to compromise by sometimes skipping dance in order to study,” Zoey said. “Especially when I have two midterms the next day-two heavy ones like chemistry and psychology-I may have to skip here and there. But, I try not to because I feel like if I’m managing my time well, I shouldn’t have to skip.”
On the other hand, Junior Morgan Pitts finds midterms and finals more stressful as she balances volleyball, tutoring and choir with school. “I believe my past midterms and finals were stressful. There’s a lot of information to learn in each class, and it gets hard when you have six through seven midterms and finals to study for,” Morgan said. “But, one thing that makes it a bit better is knowing that each test is only worth 10% of our grades.”
No matter how big or little of an impact midterms and finals have on students’ grades, they will usually end up as busy work over a way to help students acquire knowledge. “Unfortunately, students are more motivated by the grades that they’re going to receive usually than they are by the content they’re learning.” Dr. Schwartz said. “I would just like to reduce the importance of grades in general by either raising how much the midterm or final matters, or doing away with them all together. I think we focus way too much on the grades, and not enough on the content.”
Dr. Schwartz believes every teacher should choose to keep or get rid of midterms and finals in their class. After all, a midterm may be more beneficial for an AP math class in preparation for their exams, but less necessary for an English class, who usually end up doing an essay. “ I think every teacher should be free to make that decision for themselves, regardless of whether they’re all teaching the same classes or not,” he said. “There’s no reason why one teacher who’s teaching AP Psychology couldn’t insist on midterms and finals and the other not. We shouldn’t try to keep all of these things so similar that the teacher loses the ability to decide what’s best for their class.”
Zoey believes midterms and finals are beneficial to students like herself, especially if they’re taking an AP or a more rigorous course. “Something I would say about midterms and finals is that they do help you refresh your memory from everything you’ve learned in the year and I think that’s important, especially when you take an AP class, because of the exam in May,” she said. “But, for my other classes it’s less important that I remember everything from the year, so I usually go lighter on the studying from the earlier subjects and just focus on the recent learning.”
Some students believe that midterms and finals aren’t as important as normal tests. “For each class, I mostly put less effort into studying for my midterms and finals because they’re worth a lot less than normal tests, so I know my grade won’t change that much no matter what I get,” Morgan said. “I just try not to do significantly worse than I usually do on normal tests, so my grades can stay mostly the same.”
Many students find themselves studying weeks in advance for midterms and finals despite the small impact they have on their grades. “I definitely spend longer studying for midterms and finals, despite the fact they’re only ten percent of our grades,” Zoey said. “It does feel like there’s more room for error because there’s so much more content and topics. It’s harder to work my way through studying unless I’ve totally gone back and reviewed and worked through every past unit.”
“I usually go in order and start from the beginning of the unit to refresh my memory and then I start on maybe a review packet. I would definitely put more effort into midterms and finals rather than normal tests because in normal tests I know the information and it’s pretty fresh in my mind,” Zoey said.
Many wonder if the structure of midterms and finals, which are usually traditional multiple choice, actually reflect the testing they’ll have in college. “As far as the structure of my midterms, the majority of them were multiple choice and free response because they were AP style,” Zoey said. “My only different midterms were my Spanish classes where I had a presentation and English where I usually have an essay or writing assignment”
“For the most part my midterms were multiple choice and FRQs, and I think that’s pretty on par with what you see in college, so it is good preparation, in that regard,” Zoey said.
Morgan also found her midterms to be more traditional. “My midterms this year mainly consisted of multiple choice and free response questions. Six out of the seven were like that, except for my choir class where we did a voice recording and written reflection, which was more like a project,” she said.
School counselor Erica Shcaedler believes there are positives to midterms and finals surrounding stress and students as they can act as a preparation for their futures. “While I do see increased stress and anxiety in students around cumulative tests like midterms and finals, I think these types of exams are an important aspect of the high school experience,” Ms. Schaedler said. Many students will face similar exams in college, and eventually as they pursue professional licensure within their chosen career path.”
Ms. Schaedler argues that midterms and finals are beneficial towards students, and they can use the stress that builds up to their advantage. “I do believe that sitting for midterms and finals are necessary for student success, as the process around preparing for and managing the exams sets students up to tackle other stressful, large-scale projects,” she said. “Stress and anxiety around testing are normal emotions! Learning to manage those feelings prepares students to face similar academic and professional requirements in the future.”
Learning to regulate stress and emotions sets students up for success during midterm and finals season. High levels of stress are actually perfectly normal- it even shows that you are taking your education seriously. “Even though it’s uncomfortable, some level of stress is ‘okay’ around testing. Worrying about a midterm or final demonstrates that a student is taking their academics seriously and wants to do well.” Ms. Schaedler said. “Identifying that stress, recognizing when it’s increasing, and working to manage it is an important life skill as unfortunately, everyone will continue to face stressors that are both related to testing and not after highschool”
The counselors recommend numerous techniques to help students deal with test anxiety. “First, I would always encourage students who are struggling with test anxiety, or are struggling in general, to meet with their counselor. Some of my personal recommendations are creating a study guide and timeline with teachers, sticking to a study schedule that allows for breaks and selfcare, and mindfulness breaks during the exam itself.” Ms. Schaedler said.
Ms. Schaedler believes that the midterms and finals students have in highschool are beneficial and do reflect the testing they have in college and beyond. Even if it varies with what career you’re pursuing, cumulative testing is extremely common in every field. “I absolutely think that midterms and finals in high school prepare students for the type of testing they’ll face in college. While this varies significantly based on major and degree, I would say that over half of the courses offered at the post-secondary level have final exams,” Ms. Schaelder said. “From counselors, to hair stylists, to surgeons, board exams sit between graduation and licensure to practice, so learning how to successfully study and manage your stress in high school helps students prepare for their future.”
While Ms. Schaedler believes the testing aspect is important, she encourages students to focus on the process rather than the exam itself. “I encourage students to stay present and focused in class and prepare for each assessment, whether it’s a daily quiz, a unit test, or a midterm with the same level of diligence,” she said. “This way, when sitting for that cumulative exam, you can feel confident in your process and know that you are putting your best foot forward.”
