Community Reflects on Midterms
By ANGELA HE, HUGO SHINN, KEVIN THANT, and ANNIE ZHU
With the onset of the looming threat of midterm grades, preseason and the first day of school seemed almost ages ago. But it has only been four weeks since everyone returned to campus. Midterms are an opportunity for students to see where they are in their class as a snapshot of progress. However, as the need for assessment becomes apparent to teachers, graded major assignments become more common in the classroom. Here’s what students and faculty have to say about it.
Instructor in Science Eric Olson, new to the Academy this year stressed the importance of midterms and said that they “serve as a vehicle to communicate feedback on course progress.”
Olson further elaborated on Exeter’s lack of “24/7 student access to a snapshot of their grades,” highlighting the importance of midterms because it is a great time for students to reevaluate their goals. He believes that students should use midterms to help define a concise “big picture” overview for evaluating priorities and goals. Because of the stressful nature of midterms, many may feel a change in their class dynamic, with some teachers cramming in graded assignments, making them more prevalent in class.
“Midterms aren’t a final grade; it’s more of an opportunity to see where I’m at,” said lower Joshua Mullen.
Upper Churchill Salathe added that to him, “midterms are just motivation to do better.”
Instructor in History Sally Komarek provided her unique perspective on teaching an all-prep class during their pass/fail period and what midterms look like for them: “The fun thing about teaching preps is that they are eager and excited about their Harkness experience, and they also are not consumed by an obsession over their grades.”
Often, Exonians can be fixated on their letter grades, so while midterms are meant as an opportunity for students to get a sense of where they feel in their studies, it could turn into an unnecessary stressor. “It’s a lot of work,” said new upper Alex Bardagallo, describing his transition to the Academy. “It’s very much a big adjustment. So maybe pass/fail for new students would be good. They can adjust. It would reduce the stress of midterms and final grades.”
As we approach our sixth week on campus, students’ and faculty’s opinions vary on the timing of midterms as well as their feelings on fall term being almost halfway over. Salthe explained, “I think that the first couple weeks always fly by because you’re getting into a rhythm. And now that we’re getting into the flow of Exeter, I think time is starting to slow down, and you can enjoy the moments every day.”
On the contrary, Bardagallo remarked, “I kind of feel like that’s been the slowest three weeks of my life.”
Lower Grace Yang reflected on students’ workload as midterms approach, commenting, “My schedule seems really messed up because I have all my tests this week on the week of midterms. So, for some courses, I have no idea what my grade is like. But right now, with a year of experience, I feel like I’m dealing a lot better.”
“I feel like I’ve been more grounded in the library or in my dorm working on my academics,” Yang continued. “There are also less events happening, like Fall Fest.”
Prep Veda Nayar added, “I’m a prep, so fall term is pass or fail, so it is kind of freaky that it’s something that next term we’re going to have, you know, actual grades that actually account to our GPA.” However, she also believes that midterms are a good chance to see her progress for the first few weeks: “You’re able to see your grade in the middle of the term and then figure out [what you can do to improve during pass-fail time]. So you actually get straight A’s during winter.”
Senior Sophia Jia shared her thoughts on the current midterm process, which gives only advisors access to the grades, who in turn have to share them with their advisees. “They’re very helpful,” said Jia, “but I do wish that they just send grades to students and then have advisors chat with them, because sometimes I have to wait a few days even after grades have come out to see them.” She expressed that this change might streamline the process.
As graded assignments and tests are crammed into the weeks before midterm, students may find themselves stressed. But the reality of midterms is that they are a progress tracker for students and often not an accurate reflection of a final grade, serving only to give them the opportunity to connect with their teachers, receive feedback, and motivate them for the rest of the term.
