Midterms are back! At the beginning of this school year, RDHS announced that students will be taking midterms again. It has been nearly a decade since the school last administered them, with the most recent midterms being held in 2015. This year, students in grades 9–12 will be taking four midterms in the core subjects: English, math, science, and history.
RDHS decided to reintroduce midterms to give students valuable experience with assessments. “It was determined that experience with cumulative assessments in high school is an important experience and skill when entering college and other post-high school options,” explained Ms. Ali, the school’s Math and Science Director.
Many teachers also believe midterms will help prepare students for college by creating a learning opportunity for students to experience studying and taking tests before college.
Postgraduates have stated that they wished they had taken some sort of midterm before college. “I feel like in high school we were never taught how to study correctly, so studying for midterms in college was hard,” said Quinn Schrader, a student from the Class of 2025. “Taking my first college midterms as a freshman was rough. Because our high school didn’t have midterms, it was challenging to learn how to study.”
The midterms will take place in February, and student reactions are mixed. “I’m not happy because it’s on my birthday and I’m scared I’m going to do badly, but I’m curious about how it’s going to be since the last one was in 2015,” shared sophomore Paolo Baudone.
The exams will serve as cumulative assessments of the skills and topics students have covered so far throughout the school year. Teachers will work with their departments to design tests based on the information taught so far this year. “They’re going to be designed so that you can study and that you can do well on them. The information should be things that you have already covered,” explained Mr. DeLaura, the district’s Assistant Superintendent, during an interview with The RunDown.
To gain more information and be better prepared, River Dell worked with other districts to determine whether midterms were helpful for their students. Midterms also provide the school with data on how students perform and highlight which academic standards may not be fully addressed.
To make the process less overwhelming for students, the exams will only count for 4% of a student’s overall grade, reducing pressure while still having educational value. “What better way to give everybody practice than to make it low stakes at 4% and then give students an opportunity to study, learn how to manage their time, prepare, and be successful?”
