Chapel Hill administrators released a modified exam schedule April 22, extending the exam period from one week, as in years past, to two weeks.
Exams will begin on June 4 and end on June 12. Final exams will continue to count as 20% of a student’s final grade in a course.
During the exam weeks, students will have two review sessions each afternoon to prepare for their next tests.
The change is due to construction, as there is no longer enough space for testing locations to accommodate two exams per day, principal Charles Blanchard said. This year, students who receive extended time on their exams will occupy testing sites all day.
The schedule change may also eliminate some of the stress students may feel from taking two exams per day.
Science teacher Eric Stoffregen emphasized the importance of students having time between exams.
“I love [the schedule],” he said. “It benefits students by having only one exam per day, affording them the opportunity to review prior to their next exam.”
Junior Victoria Fornville agrees that the two-week schedule is beneficial for students.
“Students have more time to review, and [testing] is not as stressful,” Fornville said.
Blanchard said faculty and students have expressed similar sentiments.
“The feedback that I’ve gotten has been pretty positive: [students] don’t have to study and be ready to take two final exams, which are 20% of a kid’s final grade, on the same day,” Blanchard said. “[Taking two exams in one day] can be a little stressful and put more pressure on kids than we’d like.”
English teacher Aviva Bender-Tualemoso likes the new exam schedule.
“It is a little more complicated, but I think the idea behind it was that students would only take one test in a day, and that is a student-centered way of looking at [testing] rather than a teacher-centered way of looking at it,” she said.
Sophomore Elisabeth Charney did point out one drawback.
“I am sort of annoyed because it’s going to take longer to get them all over with, but I think it will be helpful because I will be more focused on each exam,” Charney said.
Students without an exam are still supposed to come to school, but sophomore Bryant Davis expressed reservations about attending each of the seven testing days.
“I don’t see the point in coming in for an exam if you aren’t taking one,” Davis said.
