This 2019-2020 school year at Emerson High School, things have changed. Instead of taking finals and midterms, there are quarterlies at the end of every marking period. The quarterly is a two hour period where students are going to do their exams, projects, or conferences for a week. The schedule also changes. These quarterlies are mainly for AP students, as AP classes have to take an exam. Some students in regular CP and honors classes will have exams or projects to do during the quarterly. These new quarterlies give students less 

The new replacement for the midterms and finals have changed the students’ opinions, including myself. These new quarterlies have given students less stress for the year because we now have more time to focus on our class work. 

An anonymous sophomore says, “ I think these quarterlies are better for the school now. I don’t have to worry about studying for all of my classes that I might not do well on because of how much stress I’m under. Now, I only have to study for a couple classes instead of studying for all my classes.”

I agree, finals and midterms bring a large amount of stress towards students and teachers as well. Giving students large study packets and expecting them to studying for these big test causes them to be overwhelmed. Students have to study for all their other classes on top of studying for AP exams or SAT and ACT tests. The quarterlies give students a break and gives them less stress from these classes than they already have. 

The AP students are required to take exams and that is fair, as AP classes that they need to keep up with and those students are striving for college credit. Quarterlies for AP classes is beneficial because they also show where in the year students have struggled and could determine if they are eligible to stay in the class and take the exam. 

However, there are some cons to these quarterly’s as well, like not having the half days we had while we were taking midterms and finals. Also, the teachers don’t have a large amount of preparation time to grade the exams or projects after they are taken, due to the cancellation of the half days. 

Sophomore Olivia Burns says, “I think they’re good in some ways and bad in others because it means you need to cram and you don’t have the half days also you don’t have as much preparation as the teachers used to”

On the other hand, the classes that do not take exams, such as CP and the honors classes, spent their two hours to do other activities or in class projects. It was a good opportunity to get the important and big lessons out of the way. Many students, including myself, thought it wasn’t bad depending on how the teachers decided how to handle the two hours we had. I think many students enjoyed not having to do midterms and finals and doing these quarterlies instead, because they aren’t as stressful.

Overall, the quarterlies were a good thing for the students at Emerson due to how the teachers decided to use the two hours and to show how students in AP classes to see where they are in the class and to see where they are struggling in the year to prepare for their exams later in the year. It was a great new addition to Emerson High School and I hope we continue to do them.