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The midpoint of the fall semester lands during the second and third weeks of October and it’s academic horror for most students. A midterm exam is a formal cumulative test taken halfway through the semester to determine if students understand class material thus far into the class. Not only is a cumulative exam dumb in the time of artificial intelligence, but also the timing of these exams is horrendous.
During midterm season, class registration and housing applications open for students. Rather than studying for their cumulative tests, students are meeting with advisors, reviewing their degree audit and looking up classes to add. I understand students are expected to juggle many tasks, but, come on, we will never be given this much to deal with at a job. Personally, I would much rather determine my class schedule before graduation than study for a public relations research midterm exam. Although grades determine my academic status, what if I accidentally sign up for the wrong class because I wasn’t paying attention? I would rather not take the risk and spend the extra time making my schedule rather than working on an exam.
Most universities also don’t have a specific midterm exam schedule, so students are given shorter time blocks and professors can schedule exams whenever they please. At least for final exams, students know when their exams take place way ahead of time so they can prepare their study schedule. Midterm exams, although they may be on the syllabus, can be rescheduled at any time and leave students confused and/or unprepared.
As a result of not studying, some students may resort to cheating or relying on new technology to help them pass.
In the age of artificial intelligence and the internet, it can be difficult to manage cheating when students are given a digital exam. I guess, a way to combat this issue is to just give printed, written exams, but, in college, I really don’t see the point in cumulative exams when there are other options. College is an environment where students are learning tactical skills to apply after graduation in the real world. Journalism students should be given a story, nursing students can do a lab, education students can run a mock classroom – I just don’t see the point in a formal exam in college because no employer is going to hand their faculty a written test.
Now, I don’t think formal exams should be gone completely. Tests are good ways to monitor education and make sure information is being comprehended; however, professors should have shorter tests more frequently, boosting students’ grades and targeting specific material. This way, if there’s a repeated pattern of failure in one subject versus another, the professor can address it rather than never addressing an issue because it’s on a cumulative exam and not a targeted one.
Tests are beneficial to understand what information students are comprehending and what information may need more focus; however, midterm exams are dumb. They’re taken at a bad time, so students don’t study and cheat with artificial intelligence instead. Let’s promote projects instead of formal exams during a busy time in a college schedule.