Midterm Madness
Statistic poll Millikan Corydon conducted on students.
December 16, 2021
As we approach the holiday season and winter break, the daunting week of midterms looms over our heads. Only a couple weeks after students return from break, some teachers will expect us to recall all of the information we have learned this semester during a 90 minute test.
Having to recall that large amount of information for even one or more classes all in one week is a massive stressor for students. It is unrealistic to expect the majority of students to do well in these circumstances, and it feels like students are being set up to fail.
According to a Google intake form put out by the Millikan Corydon, 68.8% of students think that midterms should be discontinued, while 31.2% believe that midterms should be kept.
An anonymous Millikan student who responded to the intake form says that “[Midterms] teach us to value grades over actual retained knowledge or general health, encouraging cheating and all-nighters to study.”
Students who responded that we should keep the midterms argued that they help prepare for college and give a good review of all the information learned throughout the semester.
Pre-calc teacher Ron Quintana says that midterms are “beneficial in the fact that students have to review everything from day one…reviewing puts everything from short term memory into long term memory.”
According to Quintana, the district requires teachers to provide midterms with the intention of a cumulative test helping students prepare for college, where students will be required to take an end of course test for every course.
Elizabeth Meza, an English, AVID, and AP Seminar teacher says that midterms can be “…a good way to see how students are performing.” She added that they also add so much unnecessary stress on students. Meza says that it might be better to have a regular assessment without the title of midterm to take some of the pressure off of students. However, Meza said/contrasted that some students may thrive off of that pressure and it could encourage them to learn the material better.
Overall, it seems to be that midterms can be beneficial for some students, and not so much so for others. Like many other things in life, midterms have both it’s pros and cons, but it seems a little bit unreasonable to have a midterm if it has such a dramatic impact on a student’s grade. Students should be offered other solutions, such as making midterms shorter, having them impact grades less, giving midterms before winter break as opposed to after, having a project rather than one test, amongst other things.
Even if midterms are necessary to keep, maybe we should simply be paying more attention to students’ opinions and needs to better suit them during this often stressful time.
Here are some helpful study sites to get you prepared for the upcoming midterms this year:
Willow • Jan 4, 2022 at 8:37 pm
I personally agree with the students’ side as midterms are very stressful and to review everything that you did since the beginning of school for every class is a big hurdle.
Salisa Chantori • Jan 4, 2022 at 2:20 pm
I like how this article explains both pros and cons of midterms and sources to help both sides of the article.
Harper Nelson • Jan 4, 2022 at 12:11 pm
“Midterm Madness” – Charlie Hex, was an article that really spoke to me. I noticed many people feeling similar feelings to me of Millikan’s testing strategies. I agree, that in the end we should be asking the students what conditions better help for test taking and relieving stress. I think it important to have multiple options when it comes to test taking, as everyone is and works differently.
Adrianna • Jan 4, 2022 at 12:09 pm
I can see both sides and I feel that it would be an even split down the middle if midterms were worth fewer points, those who claim it is beneficial still get the test and those who want midterms to not exist at all don’t have their grades drop dramatically if they couldn’t score so high.
Nick Vrolijk • Jan 3, 2022 at 10:10 am
Midterms are very overwhelming and pressuring for students. I also understand that it is also very beneficial for students as well to prepare them for college. I honestly think we shouldn’t have midterms but instead have a test that is a lot more scaled down, but slightly more important than other tests. You can combine two chapters in the test instead of putting the whole unit in.