Holiday Stress
By BRENNA DUPRIES | Dec. 12, 2019 | Student Life
As the semester comes to a close, the mid-year testing season is just beginning. With the approaching assessments comes heightened stress levels as students study for as many as eight exams in a matter of four school days.
Students are forced to cram for all of these tests that they have to take within a week. Samuel Grant, a sophomore, is taking eight exams this coming week.
“It is really stressful for me, I have to take a semester exam in each of my eight classes. I set extremely high expectations for myself so I try to study for at least an hour for each of my assessments but with soccer that is a difficult task,” said Grant. “Semester exams are a large portion of your grade and are all so close together that it makes everything very overwhelming.”
These feelings are not uncommon among students, especially at Stanton. The school already holds high expectations for its students throughout the year, and semester exams can be even more challenging due to the vast amount of material that is being tested.
“This week is definitely stressful, especially since my performance on some of these exams will determine my overall grade for the semester,” said junior Sarah Copeland, who is making preparations to take six exams this coming week. “I am really having to push myself to study in whatever free time that I can find between my daily activities.”
Although the students are the ones who are tasked with taking these exams, teachers have to put in extra hours in order to write, give, and grade all of these assessments which can evoke stress. At Stanton, teachers who teach the same course are required to work together to write the mid-term exam for their subject area. This process takes time and compromise because teachers do not always agree on what should and should not be tested and the format of the exam.
“Testing season is a very stressful time for me, there is so much to teach, and teach well,” said Mrs. Nicolle Arteaga, one of three Chemistry teachers. “It takes a lot of time to make sure students are caught up and are really comprehending the material because sometimes it comes down to whether the student will pass the semester or not. It can be difficult and stressful to get a group of teachers to agree on the manner in which material is assessed and even what content should be assessed.”
This disparity between teachers makes the season difficult for them. They have to work together to form one test even when they disagree on subject material. While specific departments allow teachers to make their own curve, most everything else must be uniform across the board.
As the whole school changes in testing season, students and teachers are more stressed than normal, everyone is anticipating the beloved winter break, and semester grades are being finalized all across campus. For students and teachers alike, extra preparation time must be devoted to this stressful period before the relaxation of break has a chance to set in.