Midterms: It’s Now or Never!

Izzy Miller, Arts and Leisure Editor

Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and especially seniors, have you begun studying for the midterms yet? The midterms, which are dreaded by the student population every year, are quickly approaching. On Wednesday of this upcoming week, the science and English midterms, in addition to a conflict, will be held, while world language, math, and another conflict will be held on Thursday. The history, AP Statistics, AP Computer Science, and other conflict midterms will be on Friday, the last day of testing. Students will be let out each of these days at 12:30PM unless a student has a conflict midterm, in which case the student will be let out at 3:00PM. Every midterm, which all last two hours and include most if not all of the material covered thus far in the year, will play a significant role in students’ grade point averages. HMHS’s formula to obtain a student’s final grade in a course, as is stated in the Student Handbook, is to double each marking period grade, add the midterm and final exam grades, then divide the sum by ten; essentially, the midterm and the final averaged together count for a fifth marking period grade. Consequently, while it is true that the lowest you can get is a 60%, failing a midterm will have a detrimental effect on your grade. The following tips and strategies can help to ensure that that does not occur.

  1. Do not panic. As of now, there still is time to adequately prepare all of your midterms.
  2. Do not procrastinate. Start now. While the impending blizzard apocalypse may be distracting and Netflix may be enticing, pulling an all-nighter the day of a midterm is an awful idea.You have less time and more material to cover than you think you have; the weekend is the perfect time to get started on this. Delaying starting this until the half day before the test is not productive; excessive fatigue resulting from all-nighters can and will impair your performance on the test.
  3. Ask your teachers what format the midterm will be and what the general topics covered are. How can you study for the midterms without knowing what are on them? While the answer ‘everything’ may occasionally be used, most teachers will either spend a few minutes or the days in the upcoming week going over the material that will be on the midterms or give out a study guide. Some, however, will not, and it is your job to find out whether or not this will be the case. You should still plan on studying outside of this on your own time; a few class periods are not sufficient time to go over all of the material.
  4. Make a plan of action and prioritize which classes to study for first. Set aside all available blocks of time for studying, then choose which subjects to study for when. Studying first for the subjects which will have less material on the exam will result in a false sense of confidence and a feeling that you can delay studying more until later. Saving the harder subjects for last is a mistake.
  5. Create a study guide or see if your teachers have already posted or given out guides. Having a sheet on which the vital material is written can help you remember it better and organize the information that you will have to know.
  6. Review old tests and quizzes to see if you remember the material. If you remember all of chapter five but none of chapter one, glance over your chapter five notes but pay more attention to chapter one’s material.
  7. Review your notes. Go off of your quizzes and tests to see which material you need to review in your notes. Additionally, because not all material is covered on them and some teachers may not give back tests, thoroughly reading over past notes and creating flashcards can help tremendously on the exams.
  8. Quiz yourself. Quizzing yourself on the material is the only way to know if you know it. Look in your textbooks for extra practice and try out a few of those math problems.
  9. Make sure to take breaks. Studying nonstop for eight hours can put a drain on productivity. Take 15 minute breaks every hour or so and leave time to destress. Go for a quick jog or watch a single episode of the TV show you are currently obsessed with. However, do not lose track of time.
  10. Gather the materials you will need or can have at the midterm. Are you allowed to use a notecard of formulas? Do you need to charge your calculator, buy new pencils, or finish the packet that is due at the time of the midterm?
  11. Go into the midterms with a positive outlook! Preparation is key to confidence, and if you have prepared well, you will do well.