Ugh! The dreaded midterms. Where would we be without them? Less stressed? Would we have more free time? Less pressure?

If you thought they were bad before, why don’t you go and add online school into the mix. 

Online school does have its ups, however. You can  stay home and do school in your PJs, you can sleep  in and have more time, for example.       

But, there have also been many challenges and difficulties brought up by online school.    

Asking a teacher for help, for instance, is not as easy as before. It’s harder to focus with all of the home distractions. It can be rough going. 

Not being able to get the one on one help students usually have the opportunity to receive can pose a difficulty for many students.

“Without the in-person guidance there (were) a couple questions (about) my classes that typically, I would ask for clarification, but with the online barrier, I felt some (explanations) that were unclear,” sophomore Claire Tong said. 

Other students were in agreement with Tong, that online school made it difficult for students to communicate with their teachers when they are struggling.

“Asking questions (is) a lot harder (through the online format),” junior Elle Danielson said. “I feel more comfortable talking to teachers in person.”

Shorter classes can also contribute to these challenges because teachers are forced to teach the curriculum in a shorter time period. This results in a faster learning pace which can be a difficult adjustment for some students. This new pace is new for both teachers and students alike, so they all had to face new challenges and opportunities to grow and adjust.

“I think that the outcome of the midterms was good but the preparation of both the students and teachers was done poorly,” Tong said.

However, there are also things that can be beneficial to students taking their midterms at home. 

The environment is less stressful because you are not seeing many people rushing from place to place, trying to get to their midterms on time. You can also be more secluded and not face the distraction of other peers while taking your test.  

“I think the online testing format actually made it easier (to take midterms) because I could be home and (it) wasn’t as stressful,” freshman Lily Tanner said. 

Freshman specifically also have different hurdles  to overcome in online midterms because it is their first experience with high school midterms altogether. 

“My first experience with midterms was weird because I took them online, but easier than I was thinking the tests would be,” Tanner said.

Even though this year has thrown some curveballs, many felt they were able to adapt well to the odd circumstances. 

“I feel like I did pretty (well),” Danielson said, “On midterms, based on the circumstances.”