As the end of the semester begins to creep up, many students are dreading the idea of midyear exams. After a two year break from exams, the idea of a midyear cumulative test is foreign to most HHS students. For example, senior Audrey Nolan said, “I am excited for [the exams] to be over, but I am definitely a little worried since I am a senior and I have only ever taken one midyear in my whole high school experience.” Seniors are the only students at Hingham High that have taken an official midterm due to cancellations in 2021 (hybrid learning) and 2022 (complications due to a COVID outbreak). 

Overall, there is a general sentiment of anxiety and stress surrounding this upcoming week. That being said, many of the juniors just wrapped up their NHD projects which will free up a lot of time for midyear studying. Junior Lina Matera said that finishing the project was “a huge weight off [her] shoulders.” She said that she now has more time to prepare for her exams and she shared her favorite strategy for studying as well. She explained, “I like to cover my notes with my fingers and try to remember what I wrote. Then I’ll move my fingers and check.”

Several students had some choice words about the exams as they don’t see them as a valid method of measuring academic performance. Some students felt that it seems silly to let one test count for 10% of the final grade when so much work is put in on an everyday basis, especially for students who suffer from testing anxiety. Not to mention, for semester long courses, the midterm exam ends up accounting for 20% of that class’s final grade.

Other students saw the importance of a midyear exam and argued the other side of it. Senior Nathan Tesler shared that “some people don’t do well with remembering homework and with the actual organization of class, so a test might be a better measure of their competency.”

Several teachers and students also brought up the idea that midyear exams are essential to prepare students for college finals. Because most Hingham graduates go on to some form of college, it is important that the school prepares students for the college exam experience so they can be successful in future endeavors.

World Language Exams have been ongoing January 10-19 during class periods. Math and Social Studies exams are this Friday, January 20th. Science and English will be on Monday, January 23. Makeup Exams will be held from 8-11:15 am on Tuesday, January 24th.

For students who feel like they need help preparing for the tests, there are many NHS students willing to tutor. This is a great resource and many NHS members still have a certain requirement of tutoring hours to fulfill.

Overall, it is going to be a busy week for all Hingham students. Best of luck to everyone!