Midterm cancellations relieve stress for students

By Caroline Kammerer

Good news arrived to students from Mr. Keating on Nov. 23. In yet another change of 2020, it has been decided by the administrative team that midterm exams should be cancelled.

As we approach what would have been exam week, some things are different for students-- perhaps for the better.

With no exams to worry about, there is more time for students to keep up with their normal work rather than review.

“As a student, I can focus more on the content at hand rather than trying to relearn a semester’s worth of work,” senior Logan Japikse said.

Preparing for exams is a time consuming process. Studying for an assessment over material from the entire semester can cause a lot of stress. With this stress being lifted, there is time for students to do other things.

“In my free time, I will take some much needed rest and relaxation after such a long and stressful year. Overall less stress and worry about grades will help me enjoy the holidays without the looming thought of test grades,” Japikse said.

This hectic year has affected just about everyone in more ways than one, and this includes the new class of freshman at Badin as well. Taking midterm exams for the first time can be scary, especially when this year has been anything but normal.

“Midterms being cancelled made me feel happy because I personally am not a very good test taker so I was glad we wouldn't have midterms. This is affecting my freshman year in a good way by allowing me to be able to build my friendships and creating memories with friends,” freshman Julia Cogan said.

The concern of students and teachers’ mental health was the primary reason exams were called off. For Cogan, this was much needed.

“If I am not stressing about midterms then I have more time to focus on taking care of myself which will benefit my mental health a lot,” she said.

While this decision has been a positive change for students, it was weighed heavily by the administrative team. One problem with keeping the exams would be how to do them with the number of remote students.

“The administrative team met and discussed this for a few hours. The primary purpose of midterms is to see what students have learned and to prepare for college. Given the number of students quarantined and remote learning, there wasn't a fair way to assess a student. We looked at each class having two exams, one for students in-person and another for remote students. As we looked at that, there was a question of equity. Students that are remote would have access to just about everything, and students here wouldn't,” Mr. Keating said.

Having to adapt to the circumstances of this year is something that everyone has had to do, and Badin is continuing to help students with this.

“Another suggestion was all students take it remotely. We've gone much further with in-person learning than others in our area. We considered the mental health of students and teachers, which is the number one thing. Everyone is worn down. Would we get enough data that was worth it for students? Does a single test give us that? The answer to that is no. Core classes will be giving some sort of test at the end, which will take place during the last week. This will benefit students with one less thing to worry about,” Mr. Keating said.

Many students have had to quarantine which can be a major setback when it comes to learning material and catching up on assignments. This has led to stressed out students and teachers trying to get them caught back up.

“Students are very stressed right now, and we hope to take away some of that. Teachers are already going above and beyond and working harder than they ever have,” Mr. Keating said.

With students and teachers both working harder than ever before, the cancelation of exams provides everyone with a little bit of peace to end this otherwise chaotic calendar year.