As the new school year rolls around, so do new policies. This year, the school board has added midterms to the finals. Also added to that new rule, only seniors can be exempt if they maintain a 90-year average. Principal Mr. Harris has addressed some questions and concerns from students in an interview with The Greyhound.
Mr. Harris explained that these new policies were initially introduced as a result of school limitations after coming back from the pandemic. At its peak, COVID pushed a lot of school rules to be changed or abandoned. He explains how last year we were getting back to normalcy, but final exams were still very inconsistent.
Teachers were giving finals ranging from traditional exams to class assignments that if they were handed in meant the students didn’t have to attend the final exam period.
“We were kind of just all over the place in terms of what was happening with that exam period,” Harris adds.
With teachers and the department chairs in agreement, the school board decided to discuss the purpose and importance of final exams and midterms. They landed on many conclusions including how midterms help teachers find out where their students need help and how much they’re learning.
They also believe the exams help the students out in many ways as it refreshes them on old topics they might have forgotten about, and prepares students for future exams in college and the real world.
Many former students expressed their feelings of unpreparedness when they arrived to college because they were not familiar with exams of this caliber..
Though he hasn’t received any formal complaints, Harris expects students to react poorly. Despite his expecting negative feedback, he is very clear about his belief that these new policies will be beneficial to students.
“I don’t mind being a little unpopular,” said Harris.
Megan McKenney, a sophomore at NHS, explained her feelings towards these new rules in an interview with The Greyhound.
“I feel like your grade should reflect how well you’re doing in that class, so if you have a 95 or above you should be able to be exempt from the exam because you’ve been doing well all year.” This thought was shared among a group of students, both juniors and sophomores all agreed.
“However, the new midterms rule, I like that because then in our finals, you won’t have to remember stuff all the way from September.”
For now, we can only imagine the outcome of these policies. As time passes, we will see how students are affected.
