Opinions

Real midterms serve as a new, necessary challenge to student body

Mia Kirkorsky '24, Business Manager|November 21, 2022

Students Daisy Fording ’24 and Teddy Deutsch ’24 prepare for their first ever language midterm.

Contrary to popular belief, midterms and finals this year might not be the catalyst of darkness we make it out to be. We all survived COVID, so midterms should be a piece of cake… right?

This is now my second year at Staples, and I’ve yet to have one “official” midterm or final. Many of you can share a story that’s similar to mine, but let me give a quick recap.

¾ of the way through my eighth grade year, COVID-19 struck. This pandemic forced new restrictions and ultimately locked everyone up until fall. Which brings us to my freshman year’s midterms, and finals.

Of course with the added stress of the pandemic, the school decided that these tests were not going to happen during my freshman year. It felt like deja vu but sophomore year, COVID and stressors struck again, and testing was amended once more.

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Obviously sitting in a room for two hours taking a test on everything I’ve learned to date is not something that excites me, but it is a skill I feel I need to have before I go onto college.

— Mia Kirkorsky ’24

So that brings us to today and me, a junior, with no real cumulative testing experience.

This year, testing is set to function as normal. Each quarter is worth 20% of your grade (80% together), and the other 20% goes to midterms and finals (10% for each test).

Students will have review periods before each exam; and additionally this year, language testing will make its comeback.

The thought looming in the back of students’ heads can serve as an unnecessary stressor, though it could be helpful for retention of class material.

That said–and this might come as a surprise–but I actually think having these formal tests is something that will benefit me in the future. Obviously sitting in a room for two hours taking a test on everything I’ve learned to date is not something that excites me, but it is a skill I feel I need to have before I go onto college.