Midterms are the talk of the school-fortunately you get Renz’s survival tips
A copy of the bell schedule of the midterms; this was given out to all freshmen who attended their December peer mentor modules.
January 18, 2019
Freshman year, I felt like I was thrown into the deep end when midterms came around; I was extremely unprepared for the whole process. Midterms were something that I felt every teacher just expected me to know how to prepare for and handle. Recently, the Peer Mentors implemented information about midterms into freshman modules and I am going to relay some of that information. Hopefully, this can clear any confusion that freshmen, newcomers, or old timers may have.
1) Midterms are over the course of four testing days. This year they will be on Thursday, Jan. 24; Friday, Jan. 25; Monday, Jan. 28; Tuesday, Jan. 29. The first day is a full day of school where only one test is taken while the next three days are all half days where two tests are taken each day (the schedule is pictured above).
Note: finals follow the same bell schedule.
2) Midterms are generally cumulative test of the semester and skills-based. In every class, students will be tested on things that they’ve been learning since September.
3) Midterms also count towards your cumulative grade point average (GPA). Midterms and finals each count for 10% of your final GPA… so if you do poorly it’s not the end of the world.
4) Extra time is given. Usually, extra time is given out to students who have modifications (for example, 504 Plan or IEP). The extra time is given 30 minutes after the school testing day. Report to the Commons after school and wait for an announcement for where to report. Email your guidance counselor for more details. Even if you don’t have modifications, don’t be afraid to ask your teacher if they can give extra time!
5) Tutoring is available! To prepare for the test, many teachers can tutor outside of school, meet at the writing center, or meet at math help. Both the writing and math centers are during lunch time, ask your teacher for more details. National Honors Society students also tutor; they tutor every Tuesday and Thursday during lunch periods.
This is a stressful time of the year, but you can get through it by preparing accordingly. If there are any questions, feel free to email your teachers, guidance counselor, or student assistance counselor.