Midterms before break a positive change

Midterms before break are a relatively recent development here at AHS. Whether you love them or loathe them, they’re a new fact of life- at least for this year’s exam schedule. These before-break exams, as of last year, replace the former tradition of holding an exam week directly after break, a precedent that while seemingly convenient actually robbed students of the ability to enjoy their few days off with family.

Most students I’ve been able to ask, myself included, see this as a positive change.

“I really like that exams are before winter break now,” explained Senior Huriya Abbasi. “When they were held after break, I usually forgot everything and was really stressed thinking about my exams. Now that they're after break, I can just take my exams and enjoy my break in peace.”

“Although there is less time to study, I definitely prefer having exams before winter break,” agreed Senior Samantha Marotta. “It lets me relax and spend more time with my family over the holidays.”

Having exams before break allows students not to feel guilty for failing to study during the busy holiday season, and it also makes such cramming relatively unnecessary. Students who take exams before break have much better luck remembering information when it is still fresh, and thus do not have to do as much review as would be necessitated with exams after break.

This change, however, is not entirely positive. As Senior Jessica Peters points out, “Some teachers don't have this time to review because they try to cram more information into the shorter teaching period. It's understandable- sometimes with AP classes, the schedule is the schedule- but it does add more pressure for both teachers and students.”

Additionally, while having midterms before break allows semester grades to be calculated faster (which is important if they are to be sent to colleges), this places undue stress on teachers as they try to prepare for the holiday season at the same time as grading multiple midterm assignments, projects, and (of course) exams.

“However, having done them both ways, I do prefer the tests before the holiday,” said Peters, representing the feelings of the majority of the student population. “Not only do you not have any stress during the break, but you get a fresh start in the new year.”