District administrators issued a new exam schedule for the fall and spring semesters, but the change didn’t appear any better. The schedule was extremely confusing, consisting of regularly scheduled blocks, half classes and half exams. Students even had to return to classes they already took their midterm in.
Last year, students were given half days for exams, so that teachers had more than one conference period to grade. At the beginning of this school year, teachers were given two conference periods and, therefore, they didn’t need the half days.
Although the schedule was better for the district and board, it complicated more things than it solved.
Exams were divided into two days, so it was more difficult to focus on any specific exam. During these two days, students were required to attend regular classes as well.
After the first two days of exams, only half of the students had taken certain exams and, in order to keep all students on the same page academically, teachers couldn’t move on with their lessons. This made it seem as though early release days were more practical rather than keeping students just sitting in a classroom with no work getting done.
Students who exempted exams were told to sign in at the JV gym and stay there instead of leaving campus. By telling everyone to go to the gym, it was easier to account for everyone. Students then assumed they wouldn’t be counted absent if they left and, therefore, never signed in.
The biggest problem with sitting in the gym is that students come to school everyday and maintain good grades in class to exempt the exam and leave campus. It’s a reward. Sitting in the gym seemed like a punishment for doing well in a class.
The sign-in list at the gym was never turned in to the attendance office and the students that hadn’t signed in were still counted as present, even after they left. The students that did sign in were cheated.
For midterm exams, Lake Ridge did something different than the rest of the high schools in the district. As a test run for the rest of the district, Lake Ridge was allowed to split their exams into two parts — half before winter break and half after. Before the break, students took all of their core and foreign language exams and then afterward, students completed all of their exams for their elective classes. This schedule seems to be better, however the exams were still shortened to 45 minutes.
The district shortened the exams to keep the schedule closer to the way it runs during a normal schedule. The shortened exams did make the day seem to go by faster, and it felt like there was less pressure than the long periods.
The end of year exams are subject to change again and, hopefully, it will be better fitted to the students needs as well as the staff and school board.
The constant changing of the exam schedules doesn’t do the students any good and it only takes more effort from the teachers, the district and the administration. To fix the chaotic exam problem, the school board should assign two full days of hour-and-a-half exams, instead of breaking them apart. This allows student to be rewarded for good grades by allowing them to leave, doesn’t cause dead class time and gives students time to take a full test rather than divide it into two days.
