This year, exams were shortened to an hour and a half, and an even bigger change will begin next year when midterms will  be held before Christmas break.

Ball was motivated to move exams with the hope that it would produce better results. “Student achievement goes up with exams before Christmas… I haven’t found any students who study immensely over the Christmas holiday,” Ball said.

According to Ball, the idea initially encountered resistance among faculty.  However, the majority were in favor of the change.  “Some 60 percent of faculty supported the change,” she said.

According to Ball, when it came to surveying students, however, it was shown that they “overwhelmingly want [exams] before Christmas.”

The plan is to monitor how test scores change and respond accordingly. “We’ll measure this over a couple of years. We’ll see whether student achievement improves,” Ball said.

Although exams will be held before Christmas, quarter two will not end until January.

Ball explains that she doesn’t want students to worry about exams during break.

“When everybody goes home before Christmas, they’ll have a big chunk of work behind them,” Ball said.

Adam Kuester is a News Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.