Hey, Tigers! As you know, this year at EPHS our midterms/finals are when we come back from winter Break. For years, we had midterms/finals before leaving for Winter Break, but this year has changed. Students at EPHS have different opinions on this change that has been made. To find out what students think, a survey was sent out to all grades levels asking what their opinion is and why!
Why Midterms/Finals Should be before Break
Out of the 90 responses received, 70 students (77.8%) want our midterms/finals to be BEFORE our break. Some of the reasons listed were they don’t want to study during break because then it’s not really a break anymore and they don’t want to think about school when they’re off. Break should feel like a reward, and students should have time to finally just relax. Some students said they will be stressed and won’t be able to remember all the material, especially if they are going on a vacation while on break and won’t be able to study in a meaningful manner. They also want a fresh start when they get back and will be ready to learn new material. Lastly, many said students won’t get as good of scores and some will even do poorly on their midterms/finals due to the split up semester. Overall, most students would rather have our midterms/finals before our 2 week break.
Why Midterms/Finals Should be after Break
On the other hand, out of the 90 responses, 20 students (22.2%) prefer that midterms/finals are AFTER Winter Break. Some of the reasons listed included having more time to study because they have too many assessments already and don’t want to feel rushed when it comes to studying. Others feel as though students will be more prepared to get back to work when they return from break because they will have gotten all the fun out of their systems. Some of these students also think they will get better results with the extra time to prepare. Lastly, several students now won’t have to worry about what grade(s) they got on their midterms/finals during break; they can go into these next two weeks knowing their overall percentage for each class without any doubt, which is a nice feeling.
In conclusion, having midterms/finals before the break allows students to enjoy a stress-free holiday and get some rest. But also having midterms/finals after break can give students more time to prepare for them, potentially leading to better scores. Ultimately, though, the vast majority of students at EPHS would rather have their midterms/finals before break. Therefore, the school should consider changing this back for next year!
Work Cited
- (Should Midterms/Finals be after Winter break Survey, 12, 2024)
