As midterms approach, Emmaus High School has announced a new plan for exams. This year will include a closed campus for students and a two month long window for teachers to administer the exams.
While some components remain the same, such as the exam being worth 10 percent of a student’s overall grade, the timeline of exams is new to students. This year’s controversial change takes away open campus for midterms.
In the 2023-24 school year, the school day ran on a schedule where the buses ran at regular time to bring students in, and would take students home at 1 p.m. The test dates ran from Jan. 22 through Jan. 24, and students were allowed to only show up for the times they had exams.
Following last school year, the decision to implement a closed campus for finals was made due to reports of disruptive student behavior from the community and local businesses.
With input from the local police department, Emmaus High School principal Beth Guarriello and East Penn School District administrators created this year’s midterm schedule in an attempt to prevent last year’s misconduct and benefit teachers as well as students.
“We all work on it together. We take input from the local police and a lot of different schedules,” Guarriello said.
Midterms will be held between Dec. 1 and Jan. 28 in an attempt to spread test dates out and not lose any instructional time.
Blocks will remain consistent like a regular school day for this two month window allowing teachers to distribute exams like a regular test within the blocks. Teachers also have the choice to split the test between one or more days for each part of the exam.
Students and teachers have mixed opinions about this new schedule. While some are upset about the lack of open campus, others appreciate the time they have to study between each exam.
English Department Chair and teacher Justine Frantzen worries that students may dismiss the significance of the exam dates due to this change.
“I think the old schedule allowed for midterms to stand out in the schedule and be seen as special days,” Frantzen said. “Trying is the only way we’re going to see if this is going to work.”
Some students prefer the old midterm schedule due to open campus and being able to leave when exams are finished. Seniors in particular have mixed feelings after experiencing multiple exam schedule changes.
EHS senior Dorrian McCargo expressed how he preferred the old schedule due to the expanded timeline of the exams.
“I would rather have it all together to get it over with,” McCargo said.
The two month schedule allows flexibility for both teachers and students, although students are losing open campus.
“I am hoping it is more beneficial. We only try to make changes that help.” Guarriello said
