Dear Middle School Parents,

This will be my final Weekly Warrior post that is specifically focused on the practical changes for the upcoming year. If you look back over the past five weeks, I have discussed the new timetable, facegroup curriculum, computers & educational technology, ELA/TAPS, and clubs. This week, it is fitting that I discuss the idea of semester exams as the final piece of this series.

Beginning next year, we will be implementing semester cumulative exams across six subjects in middle school. These exams will be knowledge-based to check for retention of the information learned throughout the semester. The idea of exams in middle school can be a polarizing topic, and I want to share why we are making this change and what it means practically for your child.

Why exams in middle school?

• Currently, the first exam students sit is in Grade 9, when it counts toward their cumulative GPA and university applications. Implementing exams in certain subjects in middle school will provide students with the opportunity to “practice” the skills of preparing for and sitting longer exams.

• As we move toward a more knowledge-centric curriculum, exams are the best way (currently) to get a clear picture of what students have retained over the course of a semester.

• Exams also allow alignment across multiple sections of the same course. Working toward one exam will give teachers a shared target for teaching and student learning in shared courses.

What subjects will have exams?

• Math

• English

• Science

• Social Science

• Bible

• Chinese/Spanish

What will we do with the data?

Exam scores are reported directly on student report cards as a separate “Exam Score” section but are not weighted or applied directly to students’ SBG ratings/grades for the semester.

In some cases, exam scores can be used for course placement in leveled subjects.