For many years at South, the midterm exam schedules have been after winter break. The controversy on whether the exams should be before the break is often something discussed by students. Since students have a two-week period where they don’t have any school work, it can be a lot for them to come back and have pressure to relearn all of their past material built up over four months.

Students should have a more spread-out schedule so they don’t have so much stress that they can’t remember their material. Adjusting the midterm schedule to occur after the break will help students expand their studying time. According to Watermark Insights, midterms make students feel overwhelmed with the amount of workload given to them to relearn. Having multiple exams a day worries them, causing them to forget about critical information.

The National Institute of Health did a study where volunteers learned a new skill and researchers measured how quickly they acquired it. Through this test, researchers discovered that taking short breaks allowed the volunteers to have a better performance during practice sessions, showing that short periods of rest enhance memories. A two-week break is not a short period of time for the brain to absorb information.

Based on some students’ personal knowledge of their class, their studying time will be adjusted accordingly. If someone isn’t good at a certain subject, they may want to spend more time on that class, but they need to ensure they have enough time for their other classes as well.
McGraw-Hill Education states that students should plan on studying a week prior to their exam date. There are a few students who will study over their break, and that leads to less studying time if exams are after the break.

Some students may study over their break and manage their studying time differently than most. While this is a possibility that could happen, most students push it off until a week before. Having exams before the break allows more time for studying, as students are less likely to push it off.

If midterm exams were not after winter break, kids would remember material better, study more and overall have better test scores.