Should midterms be before or after winter break?

I decided to organize my papers for each of my classes, to start preparing for all of my tests this week. Most people do not know whether midterms should be before or after winter break. However, I believe that midterms are one of the most stressful times for students, and they should be taken before they go away from winter break.

Research has been done for determining whether midterms should be before or after winter break.

Brian Rathjen, a writer for Iowa City Press-Citizen, said, “It provides a natural break for teachers and students, and students can start fresh with a new class when they return from a 10-day to two-week vacation.”

As shown above, Rathjen believes that if schools require their students to take their midterm before the break, it would allow the teachers and students to have a stress free break and provide them with a fresh start when they come back to school.

Joliet West, a writer for the Chicago Tribune, stated, “While students are on break, they often don't have the option of working face-to-face with a teacher and getting guidance from them. Students often have to suffer through their studying alone, hoping that they can figure everything out by themselves.”

As can be seen, Joliet West believes that if schools make their students take the midterm after the break, they would not be able to ask the teachers face to face questions and not be able to get the guidance they need.

On the other hand, people believe that it would be better for students to take their midterms when they come back from break because it would give them more time to study and get help from teachers.

Yogi Patel, a writer for the Chicago Tribune, explained, “Most teens complain about waiting until after the break to take finals, but I see it as an opportunity. Yes, winter break is meant as a relaxing period for students, but it's also the perfect opportunity to review for finals.”

As has been noted, Yogi Patel believes that winter break is a perfect time for students to review for their midterms, and learn and prepare more.

However, when students take their midterms before winter break, the material is fresh in their minds and they have oppurtoities to get face to face help from teachers.

Coming from a school who had their midterms after the break, I realized that it was more beneficial for students to take their midterm before the break. Having midterms before the break is better for students because the material on the test is fresh in their mind and they can relax during their break; whereas if the test was after the break, students would be stressed during their break and not enjoy their time off of school.

For instance, Harvard University, Kent State University, and Seton Hall University have their midterms before their winter break. However, Harvard University used to have their midterms after winter break, but they changed that in 2011.

Notably, elite colleges, like Princeton, have their midterms after the break. The winter break is when they can study for their exams. Then when they come back from winter break, they take their exams. After they take their exam, they get another break to relax and destress. High schools, like Butler High School and Montville High School, have their midterms after the break.

Aurora High School used to have their midterms after winter break, but they changed the midterms to be before winter break.

Overall, midterms should be taken before the winter break. They should be taken before because the material is fresh in the students' mind, have time to get help from teachers and give students a stress free break, before coming back to school and learning new material.