Teachers should coordinate scheduling of exams

November 13, 2014 — by Dorrie Tang

Teachers in different departments rarely coordinate their exams, and students are suffer from it.

On Oct. 29 this year, I nearly died. Maybe not physically, but the stress sure overwhelmed me mentally and emotionally. That day, I had back-to-back AP Calculus BC and AP Physics tests during my fifth and sixth periods. For me, and for dozens of other upperclassmen, these two classes are among the hardest that the school offers.

I clearly remember trying to study late into the night the day before, and stressing out about the upcoming physics test even while I was trying to focus during my calculus test. Trust me — it was not fun. And I’m not alone in having this problem of back-to-back major tests — I’m sure almost every student at the school gone through it, or otherwise will experience it soon.

The problem is this: Teachers in different departments rarely coordinate their exams, and students are suffer from it. Don’t get me wrong — I am enjoying all my classes this year — it’s just that the scheduling of huge exams on the same day is really stressful for students.

Teachers should not expect all students to be Hermione Grangers with time-turners. There are only 24 hours in a day: a third of it should, theoretically, go to sleep, another third to school and the last third to homework and extracurriculars and maybe a little fun or relaxation. Needless to say, students simply do not have the time to finish all their homework, participate in outside-of-school events and study for more than one major exam for the next day. And even if they have studied the material in advance, a final review is crucial to refresh their memory and remember everything again before the exam.

Most obviously, exams piled up on one week or so lead to unbelievably stressful nights. With so much work to do and so little time, students lose sleep, motivation and energy. According to the American Psychological Association, however, a lack of sleep causes people to further lose concentration in class and leads to emotional difficulties. On top of this, students may squeeze additional time out of break or lunch for last-minute preparation between consecutive exams, throwing away needed rest and eating time.

Having to study for one test after another gets repetitive and boring, too. The purpose of studying is supposed to be to help students review the material that is going to be tested and understand parts they don’t remember. They have, unfortunately, turned into cram sessions in which students spend most of their time memorizing information rather than truly understanding the subject.

From the teacher’s point of view, exams are supposed to be a measurement of how well students know the material for a unit. If students are trying to study for multiple exams at once, though, they won’t be able to do as well on them than if tests were spaced out and ample time was given in between to study.

Results from the tests therefore will not be accurate representations of ability and knowledge. This is bad for both students and teachers — students do not get the scores that they hoped for, and teachers are unable to properly discern how students are actually doing in the class.

There is a simple solution to this problem. Teachers, especially those teaching the same grade levels, should coordinate major tests between their classes. They should also take students’ complaints into consideration by keeping schedules flexible and ready to change if they hear that students already have a large exam on the same day that they are planning their own.

Canvas and other common systems could offer teachers with a way to see each other’s plans and change their own accordingly after simply  entering in their exam schedules and sharing them with others.

The solution isn’t complicated. But until teachers decide to coordinate tests, students will have to pull harmful all-nighters in preparation for multiple major tests on the same day. That’s a fate better planning and coordination could go a long way toward preventing.

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