Congratulations to everyone for finishing midterms! I’m sure it has been an extremely long week for us all, filled with lots of rigorous studying. Now we can finally relax and get some well-earned sleep. Aside from the exciting fact that midterms are all over, I find myself consistently asking the question “Was it really worth missing a week of school for this?” I am not saying that testing students on material as a means of review is a waste of time; however, I personally do not think that we should continue this new ‘tradition’ at NDA. Midterms definitely stress and in some cases shorten the curriculum, affect students’ and teachers’ busy schedules, and decrease the overall health of the school community.

The primary reason I question whether we should continue midterms or not is because it takes valuable time out of our learning. At NDA, we all have so much learning to do, but unfortunately, so little time. As many students know, AP classes are on a very strict schedule and time budget, and there is simply no time to stop. AP classes do not have time to review past material; nevertheless, take a week to test students on whether they remember it or not. Additionally, Honors and CP classes also move at a very demanding pace. With the snow days that we are bound to have, holidays, long weekends, and vacations, there is simply not enough time to cover all the necessary material.

The timing of midterms was also very stressful for many students’ and teachers’ schedules. In most classes, students were still getting tested on new material up until the Friday before midterms. Many students complained that they simply did not have any time to start studying early because the term was just about to end, and tests on new material were still being given. Teachers were also very busy finalizing grades and correcting tests, while also making the midterm exams. Additionally, as the juniors were well aware, the January SAT was also the Saturday following the week of midterms. A lot of students were drained from the week, and probably did not perform at their very best. Some students were discussing moving midterms to before Christmas vacation, because winter sports were also at their peak in the season.

Midterms took an extreme toll on the NDA student body as a whole. I am not just speaking for myself when I say that it was an incredibly exhausting week. Many students in my classes argued that at least the timing of midterms could be changed, if they are continued next year. Yes, midterms cut down on the amount of material on our final exams, and they certainly do prepare us for college. However, I believe that there are other methods of testing students’ knowledge of the material, such as projects, papers, and tests, which do not entail as much stress or missing a week of school.