Midterm week is a wild time for many Westlake students. Because of the testing and differences in schedules, midterm week can get a little hectic. Although midterm week might seem overwhelming or stressful, it is more manageable than most think.

Positives

• Leave school early

• Home for lunch

• Hanging with your friends after the midterms

• One day off of school

• Midterms help practice for bigger tests like Regents and AP exams

• The test block is appropriately paced

• Graded very quickly

• Ability to reflect on test prep and performance

• Large percentage of grade 

 

Negatives

• Requires lots of studying 

• Causes stress

• Large percentage of grade (could also be a positive)

• Assigned seating 

• Possibly in school all day with 2 midterms

• If people have a 2 hour break, many people have nothing to do 

 

There are definitely two types of people during this week: some who love it and some who dislike it. Depending on one’s testing preferences, students find that midterm weeks offer both positives and negatives. For example, some people stress and study for weeks while others simply study a little the night before. Because of this, some find that testing week is simple while others find it overwhelming. 

 

Regardless of study habits and preferences, midterm week for any student is a plus because students often leave school early and most kids get to go home for lunch and hang with friends after tests if no studying is required; having extra time to prepare and study is definitely an added bonus.

 

More importantly, midterms might be stressful, but they do provide the opportunity to practice for bigger exams like the AP, SAT and/or Regents. Even though there is a 2-3 hour block for the test, the time devoted to testing goes by quickly because focus is easier in the large testing setting. What’s even better is that students get their score back within the next week and have time to review it in class with their teachers. This gives a lot of students time to reflect on how they could better prepare for final exams.

 

Even though there are many positives, students definitely discuss the negatives too. What is brought up frequently is that these tests do usually cause stress and lots of studying. These tests are not added into students’ quarterly grades, but stand alone and count towards 10% of the final average. This could be either a positive or a negative depending on how students perform on the one exam.

 

Also, a lot of kids do not like testing in the gym; however, this helps many focus. Some people dislike it, as it might cause stress. Lastly, people who have 2 midterms in each day means they have to stay at school all day and feel the pressure of two tests. 

 

In the end, midterm week requires hard work both in class and studying out of class. Hard work, let’s remember, is what people need to grow.