Faculty Share Insight on Mid-Year Exam Preparation

Elizabeth Hershey ’25

Colin Schlitt ’24

As the end of the first semester nears, Upper School students will soon face their first exams of the school year. While several semester courses, such as science and religion, will have their final exams on December 16th, many year-long classes will also have large assessments or projects before winter break. The assessments for the year-long classes will be weighted the same as a standard test.

In preparation for these exams, Upper School Learning Specialist Alyson Kurz advises all students “to start early and figure out what they want to be studying from.” Kurz also recommends, “Students should talk [their study plan] over with their advisor and make sure they stick to it,” and adds, “I think it’s important to meet with teachers, but for the sake of your and your teacher’s time, make sure that you go over your material, so that you have really specific questions on things that you want to answer.”

Upper School Science teacher Christy Rheam gives her advice for mid-year exam studying as well, noting, “The beginning of December will be a good time to start reviewing.” Explaining the in-class review plan, she says, “It’s likely only going to be one review day. We’ll go through the highlights of each unit and then certainly have a chance to ask questions.”

Despite this guidance, some students still feel anxious and stressed about their exams. When asked about her concerns for studying for semester exams and balancing other school work, Bridget Murphy ‘25, shares, “Balancing homework and studying is difficult because in the spring when teachers know you are taking exams, they lighten up on the homework load, but when you don’t have an exam in that class, it is going to be harder.” 

Connor Shanahan ‘24, who will also take a semester exam in December, remarks, “I plan to go over my old tests, review class notes, and then make a list of what I need to review.” In contrast to Murphy’s point, Shanahan does not mind taking semester exams and does not find them to be stressful because he has had prior experience with them. “I think that these exams will help me prepare and get a better understanding of what the year-long exams will look like,” he adds.

Similarly, Sophia Hu ‘24 shares, “I’m going to review all my notes and look at my labs.” She is preparing for her mid-year exam in the semester-long course, Bio 1, and comments that she is “not really worried about midterm exams because this year, I only have one.”

Kurz’s overarching message for students is to “make your goals public when you are going to be studying — that accountability piece is really important.”