With the midterms approaching, many prepare to hopefully achieve the highest grade. Should midterms be required?

Midterms should be optional.

At Struthers, midterms only became a requirement recently, given that there is a voucher system. Midterms shouldn’t become a requirement, and they should change to a more optional system at the teachers discretion. Teachers should have an option to give the midterm or continue with regular teaching duties.  According to Teachthought.com, “They take up so much time–several days of review, a week of administering, and then all the correcting. To top it off, they place students in a high-anxiety environment.” Though the test is a benchmark for most, it can be a real time-taker and interfere with the class curriculum of the teachers. Midterm exams can be a real struggle for teachers and students around the nation. 

A lot of people see this as unnecessary and not a major change in the progression of school. Though on some points it can be true, it is not. Making the midterm optional would give teachers more of a chance to focus on the current points in what they are teaching. If they are more focused on the midterm, then they would not be able to catch up on any form of work they have to get done. 

This would be the easiest thing to fix: teachers would have more of the decision in the matter to help ensure that each student is focusing on work. Teachers can still have regular tests and quizzes to benchmark students on where they are at. If they need help, then the teacher can properly help them on the issues they are having. 

Required midterms have only been in Struthers for a short amount of time. It is not too late to find another system that works better or improve the requirements for the midterms. Midterms could be a more improved system in Struthers, not just a time taking benchmark exam.