The possibility of having exams before Christmas break has been brought before the Academic Council for the past two years. However, both times it has been brought proposed, it was defeated because a majority of the faculty disagreed with the idea.

According to a poll sent to the entire student body from Principal Paul Barker last year, 83% of students said they would prefer to take exams before Christmas Break.

One reason why students argue for exams before break is because they believe they would be less stressed.  “Break, I feel, is supposed to be a relaxation from school. If you have them before, you won’t need to worry while you’re on break and afterwards,” said junior Paige McMillan.

Vice Principal of Academics Gary Scholl agreed with this idea, but added that it would benefit the students because they “would not have a two week absence from school, during which most of them forget a good bit [of things they’ve learned].”

Scholl also said that having exams before Christmas Break would allow for more instructional time in the classroom both before and after Christmas.  According to Scholl, before break, teachers wouldn’t have to deal with the unproductive attitudes of students. After break, teachers wouldn’t have to spend that single week reviewing, relearning, and trying to prepare for exams.

Scholl believes that the best system would be to have exams before break but still end the quarter and semester in January.  As for the time after break, Scholl said teachers could work on other long-term assignments that are often assigned over break.

However, while Scholl thinks that exams before break would benefit both students and teachers; he said he does not believe it is plausible.

“Much of the faculty was not comfortable with the system, resulting in the defeat of the proposition in the Academic Council,” said Scholl.

However, the entire faculty does not oppose the proposition.

“I’m going to get in big trouble, but I want them before. I understand why we do it this way, with semester courses, but they’re looming over my students’ heads. It would also give me more time to grade them; I would have two weeks to the three days I have now,” said Science Department chair Rebecca Jansing-Kaestner.

Changing exam dates would also disrupt the balance of days between semesters. According to Scholl, there would need to be ten days added to first semester, which would mean starting school in mid-August or ending in mid-June.

“I don’t think there are many people who would want to come back to school on August the 16,” Scholl said.

Scholl said that unless the faculty has a “dramatic shift in thinking,” the exam schedule will remain the same.

McMillan has a little more hope though.  “To them it might not be a good enough reason to change, but maybe if they truly listened about how it affected it us, it could change.”

Allison Siegel can be reached for comment at [email protected].