Midterms – the dreadful word.  The only thing worse than midterms is the infamous f-word, finals.  Teachers and members of the administration support midterms, and they have a valid argument.  Being a college preparatory school, Prep must best prepare its students for college.  Midterms, as well as other major exams, are a routine part of college classes. To prepare students for the stresses and the difficulties that accompany midterm preparation, Prep students must be exposed to midterms.  Furthermore, midterms allow teachers to gauge how much their students have learned.  This is especially important for students in AP classes.  Midterms are a great way to review the information learned in the first half of the year and to assure that students will be prepared for their AP exams.  One reason students despise midterms so much is because they do not take the proper approach to studying (if they study at all). Instead of preparing in the weeks leading up to the tests, students choose to cram the night before, despite numerous warnings by teachers; however, studying is not the only reason many students are against midterms.

When asked about his opinion of no midterms, senior Mike Walshe said, “I really like it.  Midterms can hurt students more than they help.”  For some, a C+ on an exam can negate the hard work put in to achieve A’s during the first two marking periods.  Mike also warned about the problem of not having midterms, referring to the 2010-2011 school year when there were no midterms and finals counted for 33% of the second semester grade.  Finals worth so much put a lot of extra stress on students.  Senior Dan Pimpinelli chipped in his two cents on no midterms:

At first, I liked the idea of not having midterms because I saw the potential for getting through my senior year exam-free (exemptions are always nice).

So should Prep have midterms?  The general consensus of the students, and even some teachers, appears to be, no. While midterms do have some benefits, many students believe that the pros do not outweigh the cons.