This school year, end of marking period assessments (EMPAs) are being implemented into our curriculum. All HHS students will be taking them at the end of marking period 2 and 4. They replace our usual quarterlies that we have at the end of each marking period. There are mixed feelings about these new tests.

As a student with these upcoming exams, a lot of stress arises. Within the span of a four days, an hour and half test for every single class need to be taken. Along with this, there’s stress we have with grades and the end of the marking period upcoming. A lot of kids aren’t good test takers, even if they are good, smart students. 

Students must take many benchmarks and unit exams during the school year to  evaluate their comprehension of the subjects they have studied. This means that the progress of the students is tracked and assessed during the whole year. Taking a cumulative exam at the end of  two marking periods doesn’t inform the teacher anything about the students’ abilities that they don’t already know.

As you can see, the EMPAs may not be good for everyone. Stress tends to arise in students at the closing of each marking period, and the EMPAs amplify it.