How Do Exams Work?

• A midterm exam in Algebra 1 is given in January and a final exam for the course is given in June.
• Each exam accounts for 10% of a student’s course grade for Algebra 1.
• The exams are designed to be taken and completed within a two hour period. They consist of a combination of multiple choice questions where students need to identify the best answer from a set of choices on a given question and also open ended questions where students not only need to arrive at the correct answer but also need to show the appropriate work necessary in getting their answer.
• The January exam covers material from the first semester of the course.
• The June exam, while focused mainly on the material covered during the second semester, assesses topics from the entire year’s study of Algebra 1.
• Each examination consists of a Calculator and a Non-Calculator section.
• Students are given an exam review packet a few weeks prior to the exam. The packet includes details on the format of the exam, a list of topics and units that the exam will cover, suggested practice problems from the textbook for each topic on the exam, and answers to the suggested practice problems.

How do I prepare for the midterm and final examinations?

Do NOT cram

• It is best to plan out a small amount of studying each night for at least a week prior to the exam. Students can study for the exam by redoing problems from previous unit tests and quizzes, and completing the problems assigned in the exam review packet.
• Extra help is available after school in the lead up to the exams and should be seen as an extension of studying at home as well. Students should attend extra help with specific questions about problems they were reviewing or content they were studying. It can also be used as an opportunity to continue working on problems or reviewing notes, but should not be seen as a time to have topics or lessons completely retaught to them.