Due to Hurricane Milton and Helene forcing students to miss almost a fourth of a quarter of school, Hillsborough county made the decision to remove Midterm exams to recover. Since course credits are counted by semesters, this decision is a big deal. Normally, a student’s final grade is calculated by averaging their first-quarter grade, second-quarter grade and semester exam.

Teachers and students have mixed feelings about the removal of such an important dictator 0f a student’s overall grade. Personally as a student, I felt relieved to hear Midterm exams were eliminated. Since I’ve missed so much course work, I felt behind in the process of preparing for the exam. With no exam, my grades are solely based on my quarter grade and this lifted a lot of pressure that would have usually been on doing well for the exam. Normally, I attempt to try my hardest during the quarters so I have cushion if I don’t do well on the exam. In contrast, if I did well my first quarter, I am able to worry less the second. However, this can create issues with students not trying because their first quarter grade provided a soft pillow for them to bomb their second quarter. While relieving stress for students like me who are struggling to balance different aspects of my life, this can also push me to not do my best in classes.

In addition, some of my teachers aren’t focusing on certain aspects of learning because of the absence of a midterm exam which tests if students actually learn the content not. Since there is no way except quarter grades to prove a student is actually learning the can be risky business. Quarter grades can be easily adjusted by teachers while an exam , although it can be curved, is harder to fake knowledge and can better reflect learning intake.

While I am relieved that the pressure of studying for an exam that impacts my GPA is lifted, I am worried that this may also lift the motivation for students alike t0 commit to learning material that is need to pass our end of the year exams.