In regards to midterms and finals, there is a huge variety of cons when it comes to midterms and finals. To start with, it causes so much anxiety and stress to the point it's become the most dreaded time of the year. Stress not only affects us mentally but physically too, many students stress so much that it leads them to do poorly on their exams. According to Anthony Cianciulli who's a journalist for the website Medium, “The effects of stress on the body are paramount, with symptoms ranging from weight gain/loss, frequent headaches and heartburn. If left untreated, stress can trigger serious mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.” People don’t truly realize the effect that such high stress and anxiety can have on someone. It can cause uncomfortable tightness in the chest, rapid heart rate, butterflies in the stomach, restlessness, concentrating problems, negative thoughts, and unpleasant feelings of apprehension, dread, or shame. Another big pressure with it is towards your semester grade and that's what colleges look at. It is also not practical for students to remember a semester's worth of information for 7 classes in such a short amount of time. Especially since they already proved their skills on their unit test. Not to mention all the other school things they have to get done, including homework, the actual test they have to study for at the end of the quarter, clubs, sports, etc. 

To start, Mrs. Taylor shares how in her classes she does projects, “The subject matter I teach leans towards that so to highlight those skills throughout the semester, a project is the best way to demonstrate those skills.” She explains how “English is writing so it’s skill-based.” Next, we hear from Junior class president, Harrison Mullin, “I think that they should be eliminated because it can screw you if you are on a boarding grade.” Lastly, Senior Ava McGovern shakes her head as she expresses, “It’s sorta like a standardized test and it does not encapsulate my ability as a student.”

On the other hand, midterm and final exams offer a chance to raise your grade if it happens to be on the borderline. This is also a way to assess students over the material covered throughout the semester, making sure they have learned the skills and knowledge to progress academically. These tests also show where students could be struggling. However, these assessments could cause your grade to go down if it's on the borderline. According to The Westword online, Also, is it fair to expect students for these tests to “show the skills they learned” and to remember everything fully in a semester even after they got A’s on every test? According to the website Medium, “Test anxiety effects somewhere between 25 to 40 percent of students” “31 percent of students claim finals is their biggest cause of stress” Is all of the stress really necessary for a test that won't test your skills accurately?  

A possible solution to provide a more comfortable and trusty way of showing students knowledge and comprehensive skills at the end of the semester is through doing projects. Projects encourage hands-on application of knowledge, problem-solving, and creativity. Unlike exams, which involve a lot of memorization, projects allow students to go deep into a subject and show their knowledge and understanding in a variety of ways. Projects also encourage them to show skills such as teamwork, communication, and time management skills. Moreover, projects can promote a growth mindset and a focus on improvement rather than just grades. Overall, embracing projects over midterms and final exams would be beneficial to students to apply their knowledge to show what they know and prepare them for success in their future careers.