By Hayley Sanchez – Editor-in-Chief

Midterm exam week is going to look a little different at Jonathan Law this year.

In previous years, the schedule for midterms was five consecutive half days with two midterms per day, with students leaving after they had completed their midterms for that given day. In January, midterm week will be held, but students will take exams for part of the day, and then go to class the rest of the day.

“I believe that the district feels more instruction time will benefit all students,” Law principal Mr. Thompson said.  “I feel that any time students can be in class with teachers is beneficial.”

With the new midterm schedule there will not be any half days and the exams will alternate between class periods.  The grade that the students receive on the exam will be calculated into their second marking period and will no longer count as 10 percent of their year-end average.

The primary reason behind these changes is to increase the amount of time students spend in class.

“I really like the fact that students can take eight courses now,” Assistant Superintendent Mr. Cummings said.  “I am concerned though that there is less instructional time in each of those classes.  On the midterm schedule, I do think more time in class is good for learning.”

The exams will be given out on the “E” and “F” day schedules where the Tuesday and Wednesday of midterm week are “E” days, and the Thursday and Friday of midterm week are “F” days.

Exam periods will be 88 minutes, not two hours like in previous years.

The exams will start on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, when students will take their first and fifth period class exam. Between the two exams students will go to their third period class, and after the fifth period exam, students will report to their seventh period class.

The opposite will happen on Wednesday, when students take their third and seventh period class exam. Before students take their third period exam, they report to their first period class, and after they take their third period exam, the students will go to their fifth period class before going to the seventh period exam.

On Thursday, students will take their second and sixth period exam but also report to their fourth and eighth period class.  The opposite will happen on the Friday where the students will take their fourth and eighth period class exam and will go to their second and sixth period class.

Make-ups for the exams must be arranged between the teacher and students and if a common time cannot be agreed upon, the school will arrange a time for make-ups.

Many students and teachers are taking a wait-and-see approach to the new schedule.

“New things are always met with questions and anxiety,” health teacher Mr. Sweeney said. “We will have to see how it plays out to really have an opinion or perspective on the new midterm schedule.”

All courses will have an exam except for those who have been exempt from exams in the past.  Seniors that are CAPT scholars, have an average of a B+ or better in the class, and no cuts are exempt from taking the final exam for semester courses.

While most students seem receptive to the changes, others were a little concerned with the timing of the announcement.

“I’m not a fan that the schedule is being changed this far into the year,” senior Carol Phillips said. “It’s nerve-racking that we don’t know really what is going on when midterms are coming up in about a month.”