The Green Wave Gazette November/December 2013 | Page 11

Page 11

December 2013

Taming the Mid-term Monsters
By Amanda Doherty, Staff Writer
Most high school students know that once holiday vacation
is over, it‟s time for mid-term evaluations, the 90 minute,
brain racking, chill inducing, multiple choice question
heavy, essay laced tests that cause most kids to just give
up on studying and take whatever they get. But, there is a
way to prepare. And, it isn‟t some miracle, 24-hour cram
session. It‟s a semester long process that anyone can do.
Here are the steps:
Note Cards - Make note cards at the end of every week. On the weekends, or maybe Friday night, gather up all the readings and work done during the week for each subject. Make five note cards with the most important information and keep them somewhere safe (like a folder). This prepares you for smaller tests and exams as well as
mid-terms.
Timeline - When you start vacation, don‟t leave your book bag in your locker. Take it
home with all of your notebooks inside so you can reorganize your work. Make a
timeline. Put all the papers in order from the first day of school up until then. This
will refresh your knowledge of all the topics that have been covered. And, you can
make sure you have all the relevant materials.
Outlines - If a teacher gives you an outline, treat it like a gift from above. An outline tells
you what is on the test and what you need to know. Praise it; love it; use it.
Start Early - Start looking over the information early. You can‟t study half a year‟s worth
of information in six hours, the night before the test with no sleep. Start at least a
week before mid-terms and study an hour each night. Hopefully by this time you
have all of your note cards and past quizzes in order.
So, these are some simple tactics to help you tame the mid-term monsters. Hopefully you
will do well. But if you don‟t, remember mid-terms only count for 10 percent of your
grade.

(MCT)

―There is a way
to prepare....it’s
a semester long
process that
anyone can do.‖
Amanda
Doherty

Too Much Focus on Grades, Not Enough on Learning
A rising issue in school systems today
Alyssa Devlin
Staff Writer

to thoughtfully reflect and learn from
their mistakes.

Imagine you
spend hours
studying for a
huge science
test, staying up
late to ensure
that you do

This is a problem. Why do
many students care more about their
grade than what they learned? It
could be the pressure to get into a
good college, pressure from parents
to do well, or trying to pass so that
they can play sports and participate
in clubs. Any student can memorize
the information, take the test, do well
on it, and then completely disregard
the information until they need it
again for mid-year and final exams.
Perhaps the student did not understand what they were memorizing,
but rather they memorized potential
test questions based on what was
discussed in class.

well. You feel confident, but when
you get the test back, you find
out you fai Y