END OF MIDTERMS!!!!

I missed my post last week so here is a double post 

Midterms are finally over and I would have to say I was very surprised with many of the results.  Of course some of those surprises were good and some were bad.  Many students performed right where I thought they would while others exceeded my expectations.  I was very surprised and happy to see that about 20 percent of my students exceeded my expectations for them and in fact they exceeded their own expectations.  On the other hand about 20 percent of my students performed below my expectations for whatever the reason.  Some weren’t feeling well, some choked under the pressure, and some didn’t study at all.  I was very disappointed, but there is still light at the end of the tunnel. 

Many people in my district want to get rid of the midterms now that the Math A has been thrown out and the Math curriculum is going back to a regents exam in June after a one year course, rather than in january after a year and a half.  I think this would be a bad decision.  I feel this would be a huge detriment to all of the students, but especially the freshmen.  Freshmen come into high school never really taking a cumulative exam.  I feel that midterms allow them to have a “trial run” at taking a cumulative exam before actually taking the regents.  Yes, the midterm exams count toward their final average, but it counts as a small percentage.  I feel that they can only gain from taking midterms.  Even if they performed poorly, they know what to expect in June when they take the regents.  And the regents exam is what matters.  Colleges do not see midterm grades, only final averages and maybe regents exams.