A major change has been made to the midterm schedule: classes will continue to be held following the morning exams. In 2023, the midterm and final exams were the only events at school on the days they were taken. Students were only required to be at school during their tests and could leave after the exam concluded. The administration announced the new schedule in a Dec. 8 email to students and their families. It is unclear whether this change will also apply to finals.
The schedule will have 37-minute periods and have periods that are out of order from a normal day. Exams have been pushed back 10 minutes. Last year they began at 7:30 a.m. and ended at 9 a.m. This year, they begin at 7:40 a.m. and end at 9:10 a.m. It is also much less likely that students will have multiple exams in one day than it was in 2023. For many students last year, their history and math exams were back to back.
The change was motivated by feedback from students and staff. In the email to students, the administration explained that no new content is to be taught following midterms and that the time will be used to review existing material. The email stated that the change was made for the students; however, the student response to this change has been overwhelmingly negative. A student-created petition amassed 1,021 signatures and was seen on many students’ social media.
“We believe that students should not have to attend class in addition to midterms because allowing students to go home after testing during midterms can foster a more conducive learning environment,” the mission statement said.
It is unlikely the petition will affect the decision made by the administration, but 1,021 people—assuming each signature was made by a unique person—is approximately 55% of the student body.
“This isn’t the best choice for your students and it isn’t the best choice for the school. It worked perfectly fine last year—if it isn’t broken, don’t forcibly break it,” senior Ashton Hall said.
She believes the change is unnecessary and will only serve to intensify stress for students.
“Midterms are stressful enough as is and not having class after them gives people a well-deserved break to rest, recuperate, catch up on missing assignments and celebrate the end of the semester,” sophomore Ever Burton said.
A homework-free weekend was added before exams and new guidelines – such as not teaching new material – surrounding afternoon class structure were created to address student feedback.
However, these concerns don’t represent the opinion of all students. The reception to the change is not completely negative.
“As an IB student, we have so much stuff to do that it doesn’t make sense to lose valuable class time,” junior Zoe Babione said.
She believes that student time is better spent at school, where they can focus on their work, but does see both sides of the issue.
“Additional information will be gathered from students after midterms. This information will be used as we continue to fine-tune our midterm and final exam schedules moving forward,” the administration said.
