The fight to cancel midterms failed to come to fruition as most students had hoped, but as a partial solution, the Abington School Board revised our midterm schedule to follow a block scheduling and allow for fewer midterms to be taken each day. Also, the midterms only included content taught before January due to the great deal of absences caused by the Omicron variant and the fear of transmission it produced. In the month following midterms, students have had time to reflect on the benefits and drawbacks of this year’s midterm schedule.

Students hold a wide range of opinions regarding the change. A sophomore, for example, stated, “To be honest, the only thing I didn’t like was the fact that for the first two blocks, there was only a five-minute period to go to your next test.” The short time in between the first two blocks proved difficult for the students that took back-to-back midterms; this academic exhaustion could have impacted performance on midterms. Sophomores also had limited experience taking midterm exams, so taking two without much time in between to rest proved overwhelming. However, this sophomore was overall satisfied with midterms since the considerable weight of the exams helped students to raise their semester grades if they performed well.

When asked about midterms, another anonymous sophomore pointed out that the midterms were degrading for students’ mental health. Rates of depression and anxiety have increased in high school students due to the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic. Thus, this student believes that the decision to have midterms was negligent of the current detrimental effect of the pandemic on students’ mental health. 

Another sophomore said, “It was really stressful because we didn’t know if we were having them for sure or not until like a week before.” Students felt that midterms were sudden, and by the time they were confirmed, the dates were extremely near.

Furthermore, a junior was unsatisfied with the midterms themselves, stating, “The stress from midterms was ridiculous and I wish to never deal with that again.” Obviously, tests are bound to cause students stress, but during a pandemic, studying and not falling behind proved even more difficult than usual.

It is important for Abington to listen to what students have to say, and with mixed reviews on midterms and the midterm schedule, administrators should understand all perspectives before pushing out midterms and finals schedules in the future.